The news that Tether, the world’s leading stablecoin issuer, had set a fundraising target of $20 billion shook the market. However, Paolo Ardoino, its CEO, denied the rumor, describing the figure as a maximum rather than a target, and stating that the company would be “very happy” not to sell any shares.
His clarification came after reports published in September 2025 attributed Tether with active talks to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion with an implied valuation of hundreds of billions.
Since then, advisors have explored considerably smaller rounds, with figures as low as $5 billion, while Tether disclosed more than $10 billion in net profits in 2025.
Communication friction and market signals
Initial coverage in late 2025 presented an ambitious capital raise that, if taken at face value, would have shaken the foundations of the crypto market. Ardoino was quick to correct that approach today, describing the $20 billion figure as the upper limit of what the company was willing to sell, rather than an explicit target.
He said, “That figure is not our target. It’s the maximum we were willing to sell. If we sold zero, we would also be very happy.”
Tether’s current situation
The profitability reported by Tether in its latest balance sheet, submitted on January 30—more than $10 billion in net profit by 2025—changes the risk calculation for potential buyers and investors. Strong internal cash flow reduces the need for immediate capital, which in turn reduces the urgency of verification processes and the authorization workload for counterparties. That is why Ardoino has been so calm and has maintained the position that the company does not urgently need any capital injection.
Looking ahead, the market can expect clearer rounds with less capital to simplify the onboarding and documentation tasks of investment platforms. New product launches, such as USAt, which took place last week and has already doubled in value, according to CoinGecko data, and the success of XAUt, a cryptocurrency linked to the price of gold, mean that Tether maintains its status as a reliable company and does not have to rely on external cash flows to continue its development.