Stablecoin giant Tether is reportedly seeking to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion through a private placement, aiming to offer around a 3% stake in the company. This fundraising effort could elevate Tether’s valuation to approximately $500 billion, aligning it with industry heavyweights such as OpenAI and SpaceX, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.
To facilitate this capital raise, Tether plans to issue new equity, with Cantor Fitzgerald serving as the lead adviser for the initiative. Currently, Tether’s flagship stablecoin, USDT, holds a market capitalization of around $172.8 billion, affirming its position as the largest stablecoin in circulation. In contrast, Circle’s USDC, which recently made waves by going public in the U.S., takes the second spot with a market cap of $74 billion, based on data from CoinMarketCap.
The news of Tether’s ambitious fundraising comes shortly after the company announced a remarkable net profit of $4.9 billion in the second quarter. Additionally, Tether reported holding over $162.5 billion in reserves, considerably surpassing its liabilities of $157.1 billion. Among its diverse assets, Tether has also amassed approximately $8.9 billion in Bitcoin.
Bloomberg noted that the discussions surrounding the fundraising are still in the early stages, which means the final amount raised could potentially be lower than the initial target. Nevertheless, prospective investors have recently been granted access to a data room intended to streamline negotiations for the deal. CoinDesk has reached out to Tether for further comments regarding this endeavor.
