Tether Reportedly Abandons $20 Billion Funding Ambitions

Key Insights

• Tether has reportedly abandoned its $20 billion fundraising target.
• The company’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, said the $20 billion figure was a misconception, as that was the maximum amount it was willing to sell for.
• Tether made $10 billion in profits for 2025, but the recent crypto market pullback might be affecting its fundraising prospects.

Stablecoin giant Tether has abandoned its plans to raise $20 billion in funding, according to a new report by Financial Times. The firm dialled back its plans amid investors’ pushback.

The firm had targeted raising $20 billion at a $500 billion valuation for 3% stake. However, the Financial Times report claims that investors are reluctant to commit to the funding round at such a high premium.

Tether Planning $5 Billion Raise as CEO Says $20 Billion Target is a Misconception

With $20 billion raise now looking unlikely, the report stated that Tether advisors have already floated a $5 billion raise instead. At a $500 billion valuation, Tether would have become one of the biggest private companies. This would put it in the same category as OpenAI and SpaceX.

However, the planned raise, initially mentioned for 2025, has yet to be finalized. There have been several reports around it, including Tether reportedly preventing existing investors from selling their stake at a lower valuation.

While Tether has yet to publicly confirm this, the firm’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, reportedly told the Financial Times that the $15 billion-$20 billion target was a misconception.

According to him, the $20 billion is not the goal but rather the maximum it is willing to sell for. He said:

“That number is not our goal. It’s our maximum; we were ready to sell. If we were selling zero, we would be very happy as well.”

He added that Tether is already extremely profitable and there has been substantial interest even at the $500 billion valuation. However, he stated that the company has not finalized on the stake it would sell yet.

Tether Declares $10 Billion Profits in 2025 as Crypto Market Crashes

Meanwhile, the pullback on Tether’s fundraising goal might be a direct reaction to the recent crypto market crash. Since hitting an all-time high in October, the crypto market has been in a downward spiral, worsening in recent days as Bitcoin fell to $73,000.

The crypto market cap is down by more than 16% over the last seven days. Despite Tether USDT being a stablecoin, its circulating supply has fallen to $185 billion, suggesting more people are redeeming USDT.

Tether Circulating Supply in the past month. Source: Coingecko

This, coupled with existing concerns about regulatory risks surrounding Tether in El Salvador, might have influenced investors. However, Tether recently launched USAT, a regulated stablecoin for the US market.

Although the S&P rating downgraded its reserves rating to the lowest last year, the company recently declared a profit of over $10 billion in 2025. This is below its 2024 profits due to the drop in Bitcoin’s price towards the end of the year.

The company has also solidified its position as a leading issuer of tokenized gold, with XAUT now having a market cap of over $2 billion. Its gold holdings contributed to its profits in 2025, after the precious metal surged in value.

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