Tether Sets 2-Week Deadline for $500 Billion Valuation Deal

The company has been working to raise funds since late last year but has encountered investor concerns about the $500 billion valuation it is seeking, according to the report.

The report said that a $500 billion valuation would surpass that of every U.S. bank except JPMorgan Chase and that Tether faces growing competition in stablecoins.

Tether did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

It was reported in early February that Tether disputed reports that it scaled back fundraising plans due to investor pushback against its proposed $500 billion valuation. It had been reported earlier that the firm floated raising as little as $5 billion after previously seeking between $15 billion and $20 billion.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino told Reuters in a Feb. 4 report that the higher capital ranges discussed previously were intended “as a maximum in hypothetical situations, not as a target and not as a capital raising plan.”

He maintained that the company continued to see “significant interest” from investors at a $500 billion valuation. Ardoino added that the discussions were guided by “ethos and long-term alignment, not by urgency or by the pursuit of the largest possible raise.”

According to the Friday report from The Information, Ardoino said in September 2025 that the company was considering raising money to expand its offerings, but said in February that the company doesn’t need the funding. Tether is the world’s biggest stablecoin issuer and earned net profits of more than $10 billion last year.

Ardoino said in a Sept. 23, 2025, post on X: “Tether is evaluating a raise from a selected group of high-profile key investors, to maximize the scale of the Company’s strategy across all existing and new business lines (stablecoins, distribution ubiquity, AI, commodity trading, energy, communications, media) by several orders of magnitude.”

Tether launched a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin called USAT in January, saying the token was developed to operate within the federal stablecoin framework established by the GENIUS Act.

On March 25, Tether said it has engaged a “Big Four” accounting firm for its inaugural audit and that this is “slated to be the biggest ever inaugural audit in the history of financial markets.”