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Tether scales back fundraising plan after investor pushback

Tether, the company behind USDT, the world’s biggest dollar-linked digital token, has slowed down its plan to raise a lot of money. Investors have pushed back, and advisers are now looking at a smaller fundraising goal. The new idea is to raise at least 5 billion dollars. This is much less than the earlier talks in 2025, which mentioned 15 to 20 billion dollars. The fundraise is still in very early stages, and no final decision has been made about how much will be raised or when.

Why the big plan became smaller

People started talking about a very large fundraising target because the company was talking about a very high valuation. The original range was first reported by Bloomberg in September 2025. It was connected to a valuation of about 500 billion dollars. If true, that would have placed Tether among the most valuable private companies in the world. But many potential investors found this valuation hard to justify given today’s market conditions and growth prospects.

Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s chief executive, said the higher figure was never a fixed target. He explained that the number being discussed was the maximum the company would consider selling. He added that if the company could raise money by selling nothing, that would be fine too. Ardoino noted that Tether is profitable already and does not urgently need outside capital.

About USDT, the company’s main product

Tether is the issuer of USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin by how many are in use. A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency whose value is kept close to another asset, usually a real-world one like the U.S. dollar. The goal is to avoid big price swings that are common in other cryptocurrencies. USDT is meant to be worth about 1 U.S. dollar most of the time, which makes it useful for trading and everyday transactions.

As of now, there is a lot of money tied to USDT. About 185 billion dollars of USDT are in circulation. Tether has said it makes money by earning returns on the reserves that back USDT. Most of these reserves are U.S. Treasury securities, which are government bonds sold by the U.S. government. These bonds are known for low risk and steady payments.

How much money Tether made from its reserves

Tether has reported strong earnings from the returns on its reserves. Ardoino has said the company made around 10 billion dollars in profit last year. This figure has been part of the discussion about the value of the company and how much it could raise from investors. Some people in the market still question how much value a company with such earnings should have, especially if people are worried about how the company is counting its assets and how fast it can grow in the current market.

What investors worry about

Even with profits, there is cautious thinking among some investors. The Financial Times reported that concerns focus on how the 500 billion dollar valuation was calculated. People want to see realistic expectations for growth given today’s market conditions and the way the crypto market is changing. Investors are weighing the risks and whether the price tag matches what Tether really can deliver in the next few years.

Bitcoin, gold, and more: how Tether has changed in recent years

Tether has not just kept cash-like reserves. In recent years, it has moved into other areas. The company has built large positions in Bitcoin and in gold. Earlier in the year, Ardoino confirmed that Tether bought about 779 million dollars worth of Bitcoin in the fourth quarter of 2025. This purchase pushed Tether’s total Bitcoin holdings to more than 96,000 coins. In plain language, this means the company now owns a big amount of a different kind of asset in addition to cash-like reserves. Some people see this as a way to grow future profits, while others worry it adds more price risk to the reserves backing USDT.

Transparency and ratings concerns

Along with growth plans, Tether faces questions about transparency. In November 2025, S&P Global Ratings gave USDT its lowest score on the agency’s stablecoin stability scale. The rating noted gaps in disclosure and a higher share of assets such as Bitcoin, gold, and secured loans in the company’s reserve mix. S&P also pointed to the way information was reported as a factor in its rating. Ardoino publicly disagreed with the rating. He argued that traditional rating frameworks do not fully capture Tether’s business model and how the company operates in the market.

What this could mean going forward

The decision to aim for a smaller fundraising target shows that Tether is listening to market feedback and not forcing a large valuation. The company still has to balance investor interest with its own goals and the current conditions in the crypto market. The big question is how much money the company will actually try to raise and when. Investors will be looking at signs of demand for such a sale, the company’s ability to meet capital needs without harming its existing operations, and the performance of the crypto markets in the coming months.

Market dynamics can change quickly. If investor appetite remains cautious or crypto prices swing, Tether may decide to postpone a larger raise or settle for a smaller one. On the other hand, if market conditions improve and confidence grows in USDT and the broader crypto ecosystem, the company could revisit a higher target later on. For now, advisers are focusing on a number that reflects current investor sentiment rather than the earlier, more ambitious ideas.

In a note about the situation, CryptoPotato summarized the report as saying that Tether is pulling back on the plan for a 20 billion dollar raise after pushback from investors. The Financial Times reported this development on February 4, 2025, and the situation remains fluid as talks continue.

Source note: The post Tether Pulls Back on $20B Fundraising Plans After Investor Pushback (Report) appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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