Tether abandons plans to raise $20 billion due to investor discontent

In September 2025, Tether intended to secure between $15 and $20 billion through a funding round, which would bring its valuation up to $500 billion, as reported by the Financial Times and Bloomberg.  This would have positioned it as one of the most valuable private companies globally, comparable in value to OpenAI, SpaceX, and ByteDance, which owns TikTok. 

However, investors approached the bold plans with caution, and Tether's advisors started looking into raising just $5 billion, as reported by one of the Financial Times' sources.  The source explained that discussions are still taking place, and the details might still be subject to change.  According to them, investor confidence might rise significantly if the cryptocurrency market starts to expand. 

Ardoino mentioned that there was a "misunderstanding" regarding the initial investment amount, and clarified that these numbers are not Tether's goal, but rather the highest amount the company is prepared to provide.  He claims that Tether is a highly profitable company and has attracted "strong interest" from investors despite its $500 billion valuation.  Ardoino mentioned that the company has not yet determined the number of shares to sell, as insiders are not willing to give up their shares.

source: ft.com