Tether is pulling back from earlier plans to raise as much as $20 billion after facing resistance from potential investors over its valuation, according to a report by the Financial Times. The stablecoin issuer has been exploring fundraising options for more than a year but is now taking a more cautious approach.
Sources familiar with the discussions said what initially began as talks around a very large raise has shifted significantly. The change highlights a growing gap between Tether’s internal confidence and investor concerns around pricing, regulation, and long term risk.
Registered in El Salvador, Tether entered discussions last year about raising between $15 billion and $20 billion in new funding. That range would have implied a valuation of roughly $500 billion, placing the company among the most valuable private firms globally. Advisers involved in the talks are now reportedly exploring a much smaller raise closer to $5 billion after encountering reluctance from investors unwilling to back such a high valuation.
Tether’s leadership has downplayed the importance of the earlier figures, stating that the higher amount represented a maximum scenario rather than a firm target. The company has not committed to selling a fixed stake and has suggested it could move ahead with a smaller raise or avoid fundraising altogether.
This position reflects Tether’s strong financial standing. The company reported around $10 billion in profit last year, largely driven by interest earned on assets backing its USDT stablecoin. That level of profitability has reduced the urgency to seek outside capital. Insiders have also signaled caution about selling shares, which further limits the size of any potential deal.
Part of the motivation behind the fundraising discussions was to attract high profile investors and strengthen Tether’s market standing. However, valuation has emerged as the main sticking point. At a $500 billion valuation, Tether would be compared with private technology giants such as OpenAI, SpaceX, ByteDance, and Anthropic. Some investors have questioned whether those comparisons are justified, despite Tether’s earnings power.
Market conditions have added pressure to the talks. Crypto assets rallied earlier in 2025 on expectations of more favorable US regulation following Donald Trump’s election. Since then, the market has cooled as investors moved away from risk heavy assets. That pullback has made investors more cautious about backing large private deals at premium valuations.
Regulatory concerns have also weighed on sentiment. Tether has pointed to recent US stablecoin legislation signed by Trump as a positive development and has launched a new US compliant token to align more closely with American rules. Circle’s public listing last year has been cited as a sign of growing acceptance for regulated stablecoin issuers.
Despite these efforts, skepticism remains. Since its launch in 2014, Tether has faced repeated scrutiny over the transparency of its reserves and concerns around illicit activity linked to USDT usage. While the company publishes quarterly reserve attestations from BDO Italia, it has yet to produce a full independent audit. Late last year, S&P Global Ratings downgraded Tether’s reserves to its weakest rating, citing higher exposure to assets such as bitcoin and gold.
USDT’s rapid growth since 2020 has made Tether a major force in global finance. The company is now one of the largest buyers of US Treasuries and has also become a significant participant in the gold market. That scale has positioned Tether as a key bridge between traditional financial systems and the crypto ecosystem.
Tether’s profits fell by around 25% in 2025 compared with the previous year, largely due to declining bitcoin prices. Gains of roughly $8 billion to $10 billion from gold holdings helped offset part of that impact following a strong rally in the metal.
Fundraising discussions are still ongoing, and people close to the talks say terms could change. A renewed rally in crypto markets could ease investor concerns, but for now, valuation remains the biggest hurdle.