Tether Steps Back From $20 Billion Funding Plan Amid Investors Pushback

• Tether planned to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion.
• Investors rejected Tether’s $500 billion valuation as a fundraising target.
• Paolo Ardoino has downplayed the fundraising situation, hyping Tether’s profitability status.

Investors’ pushback has forced Tether, the world’s leading stablecoin issuer, to abandon its $20 billion fundraising target, according to reports.

Advisers Rating Vs Investors View

The fundraising plan, which began last year, involved a $500 billion internal valuation by the company’s executives, with a target that could have put Tether among the most valuable private companies on earth. However, investors did not buy the idea, and the company has reduced its target to just $5 billion.

In the meantime, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has downplayed the development, saying that the larger figure was only a maximum the company was willing to sell and that Tether would be comfortable not raising capital at all. However, it is worth noting that Tether made about $10 billion in profit last year, mainly from returns on its USDT reserve.

What Tether CEO Thinks

According to reports, it was Tether’s advisers who floated the idea to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion, but that has changed, even though Ardoino insists it was never a hard target. Despite the pushback from investors, particularly renowned financial firms, Ardoino remains bullish on Tether and its status.

The Tether Chief Executive further compared the firm with AI companies valued significantly higher than the $500 billion target, even though they run on negative balance sheets. Ardoino told the public that Tether has not decided how much equity to sell because many insiders are reluctant to sell. According to him, several investors showed interest in the company’s stocks even at the sky-high price.

In the meantime, Tether has hired Cantor Fitzgerald, a leading global financial services firm, to help with the deal. Meanwhile, neither side has released any official statement about the final figures. That has left investors speculating on what could happen, especially if crypto prices surge significantly soon.

Related:Tether Targets $20B Raise at $500B Valuation, Expansion Beyond Crypto Planned