Stablecoin news out of the Financial Times suggests Tether has pulled back from earlier expectations for a large private fundraising. Investors pushed back on a headline valuation of about $500 billion.
The shift matters because Tether is not a typical capital-hungry crypto company. It is already highly profitable, and it publishes regular reserve disclosures tied to its dollar-pegged token, USDT.
In this stablecoin news cycle, the key development is not that Tether needs money. It is that investors appear unwilling to underwrite a valuation that large without sharper agreement on terms and risk.
The Financial Times report described investor pushback on the $500 billion figure, prompting a rethink of the round’s scale.
That pushback lands at a sensitive moment for stablecoins. Large allocations, even in private markets, tend to attract scrutiny on governance, transparency, and how cash flows are generated.
This stablecoin news update is also a reminder that valuation is not only about earnings. It is about investor confidence in reporting, controls, and the durability of the business model.
According to reporting summarized from the Financial Times, Tether had initially explored raising as much as $20 billion.
It is now considering a far smaller amount—described as possibly as little as $5 billion—after discussions with investors.
This is the practical heart of the stablecoin news story: the fundraising conversation did not end, but it changed shape.
Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, characterized the earlier $20 billion figure as a ceiling rather than a commitment and emphasized that the company does not have an urgent need for new capital given its profitability.
The Financial Times also noted that Tether’s efforts to bring in well-known investors have been closely watched as a signal of broader crypto risk appetite, even as the firm “makes billions of dollars in profits and has little need for additional capital.”
Tether’s own disclosures help explain why a smaller round can still fit its strategy. In an update released on January 30, 2026, Tether said it minted almost $50 billion worth of new USDT over the course of 2025, with roughly $30 billion of that added in the year’s second half.
The company also reported that USDT in circulation climbed past $186 billion, the highest level it has ever reached.
Tether also shared its year-end snapshot as of December 31, 2025, reporting $192,877,729,144 in total assets against $186,539,895,593 in total liabilities. Nearly all of that liability was linked to the digital tokens it had issued.
It also highlighted the composition of reserves. The company said direct U.S. Treasury holdings exceeded $122 billion, and total direct and indirect Treasury exposure surpassed $141 billion, including overnight reverse repos.
Those figures anchor the stablecoin news narrative in a simple point: when a company can fund operations and expansion from internal cash generation, investors have less leverage to demand the company “prove itself” with a mega-round. In that context, scaling back the raise can look like a choice, not a retreat.
This stablecoin news development also shows how investors separate “profitability” from “price.” A $500 billion valuation is a specific claim about what a business is worth today, not only what it earned last year.
In late 2025, the Financial Times reported that Tether had discussed raising $15–$20 billion for roughly a 3% stake—terms that would place the company in the top tier of private valuations globally. The new reporting suggests the market is testing that assumption in real time.
Tether’s own language underscores the confidence it wants investors to take away. In its Q4 2025 attestation announcement, Ardoino said, “What matters about 2025 is not just the scale of growth, but the structure behind it.”
That message aligns with how sophisticated capital evaluates stablecoin issuers: not just growth, but structure, liquidity, and the credibility of reserve management.
It is also why this stablecoin news item resonates beyond one company. It shows that the stablecoin sector’s next phase may be shaped less by hype and more by pricing discipline.
Tether’s reported decision to scale back its capital-raise ambitions after investor pushback on a $500 billion valuation is a market signal, not a solvency signal.
In this stablecoin news moment, the data that stands out is Tether’s own: $10B+ in annual profit, $6.3B in excess reserves, and $186B+ USDT in circulation backed by nearly $193B in reserve assets at year-end.
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