Tether Reduces $20B Fundraising Target as $500B Valuation Draws Criticism: Report
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, has reduced the firm's ambitious $20 billion fundraising initiative, characterizing the initial figure as a "misconception," though the company still defends its $500 billion valuation target.
The company behind USDt — the world's leading stablecoin measured by market capitalization — has allegedly pulled back on a bold $20 billion fundraising initiative that was unveiled during the autumn months following doubts expressed by potential investors.
According to a Wednesday report from the Financial Times, which cited individuals with knowledge of the situation who wished to remain anonymous, advisers working with the company have recommended slashing the capital raise to potentially just $5 billion.
Paolo Ardoino, who serves as Tether's chief executive officer, dismissed previous media coverage suggesting the firm was targeting a fundraising range of $15 billion to $20 billion, characterizing such reports as a "misconception."
"That number is not our goal. It's our maximum we were ready to sell," Ardoino stated, as reported by the Financial Times. "If we were selling zero, we would be very happy as well."
Ardoino defends $500B valuation by comparing Tether to AI companies
Despite pulling back on the $20 billion capital raise, the company has maintained its commitment to a $500 billion valuation target, although the report indicated that investors have privately expressed reservations about this ambitious figure.
In defending this valuation, Ardoino drew comparisons between Tether's profitability and that of artificial intelligence platforms like OpenAI, which according to reports achieved a $500 billion valuation following a share transaction involving SoftBank last October.
"The AI companies are making the same amount of profits we're making, except with a minus sign in the front," Ardoino stated, adding:
"If you believe that some AI company is worth $800 billion, with a huge minus in front, be my guest."
These remarks from Ardoino followed Tether's announcement that the company generated $10 billion in profits during 2025, representing a 23% decline compared to the prior year's performance.
The company's flagship dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDt (USDT), maintains its position as the world's largest stablecoin by market capitalization, presently standing at $185 billion.
Beyond USDt, Tether also manages XAUt, a gold-backed stablecoin with a market capitalization of $3.6 billion, and has been strategically building up its gold reserves, disclosing to Cointelegraph in late January that it possessed 130 metric tons of physical gold.
In the previous week, the company officially introduced USAt, a new stablecoin created exclusively for the United States market in compliance with the GENIUS Act. Launched through Anchorage Digital Bank, USAt possessed a market capitalization of $20 million as of publication time, having doubled its value from the launch date, based on information from CoinGecko data.
Tether was contacted by Cointelegraph seeking additional commentary regarding the modified fundraising strategy, but the company had not provided a response by the time this article was published.