Tether is evaluating a capital raise from a ‘selected group of high-profile key investors’ to maximize the scope of the company’s strategy across all existing and new business lines, by several orders of magnitude, CEO Paolo Ardoino stated on Wednesday.
The stablecoin issuer aims to raise between $15 and $20 billion for approximately 3 percent equity through a private placement, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The capital raise would value Tether at around $500 billion, placing it alongside tech giants such as OpenAI and SpaceX. This would surpass its closest rival, publicly traded Circle, which is valued at about $30 billion.
Tether is returning to the U.S.
The transaction would involve new equity capital rather than existing investors selling their stakes, with Cantor Fitzgerald acting as the lead advisor. The Salvador-based company has generated substantial profits from investing stablecoin reserves in U.S. Treasury bonds and other cash-like assets. Tether earned $4.9 billion in the second quarter, and Ardoino claims it has a profit margin of 99 percent.
Tether has faced numerous pushbacks and regulatory hurdles under the Biden administration, which is opposed to crypto technologies, but is actively working on plans to return to the U.S. under the new pro-crypto Trump administration. The company has appointed a new CEO, former White House crypto official Bo Hines, for its U.S. operations. It has also launched a new stablecoin for U.S. markets called USAT, which will be regulated under the GENIUS Act.
