Tether in talks to raise up to $20B in funding at $500B valuation

Tether, the stablecoin giant behind USDT, is holding early discussions to raise as much as $20 billion in fresh funding—a move that could put its valuation at an eye-popping $500 billion. Bloomberg reported the company is seeking between $15 billion and $20 billion in a private placement that would give investors about a 3% stake. Cantor Fitzgerald is said to be advising on the deal.

The talks are still in the early stages, and people close to the matter stressed that terms could shift before anything is finalized. But the size of the potential raise—and the half-trillion valuation target—signals just how dominant Tether has become in the stablecoin market.

“Tether Holdings SA, issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, is in talks with investors to raise as much as $20 billion, a deal that could propel the crypto firm into the highest ranks of the world’s most valuable private companies. The El Salvador-based company is seeking between $15 billion and $20 billion in exchange for a roughly 3% stake through a private placement,” Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Tether: How the Crypto Startup Behind USDT Became a $500B Company

Since its inception over a decade goa, Tether has built its empire by offering tokens pegged to traditional currencies, allowing traders and institutions to move between digital assets without the price swings of Bitcoin or Ethereum. With a market capitalization near $68 billion, USDT sits just behind Bitcoin and Ethereum in overall crypto rankings and towers over every other stablecoin competitor.

Tether has also been expanding its political and geographic reach. In August, the firm brought on Bo Hines, a former White House crypto policy executive, as a strategic adviser to strengthen its presence in the U.S. The hire comes as crypto firms lean into President Donald Trump’s friendlier posture on digital assets.

The company’s roots go back to 2014, when it launched as RealCoin before rebranding as Tether later that year. Originally built on Bitcoin’s blockchain, USDT has since spread across Ethereum, TRON, EOS, Algorand, Solana, and Bitcoin Cash. That broad base has helped it remain the default on-ramp and settlement token for traders worldwide.

Behind Tether is iFinex, the Hong Kong-based parent company that also operates the Bitfinex exchange. Together, they’ve played a pivotal role in shaping crypto markets over the past decade, even as regulators and critics have questioned Tether’s reserves and transparency.

If the $20 billion deal goes through, Tether would move into rare territory, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Apple and Microsoft in terms of private-market valuation. Whether investors buy into that pitch remains to be seen—but the talks alone underscore how far the stablecoin has come from its modest start as RealCoin over a decade ago.