Tether’s planned capital raise has hit resistance, forcing the crypto heavyweight to dramatically scale back ambitions as advisers reassess how much new money the company can realistically attract. People familiar with the talks told the Financial Times that investor pushback over a headline-grabbing $500 billion valuation has prompted advisers to consider a much smaller round—potentially as little as $5 billion. That would be a major retreat from discussions last year, when Tether was reportedly exploring a $15–$20 billion raise. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino pushed back on the idea that the company was actively trying to sell at a $500 billion valuation, telling the FT the figure was the upper limit at which the firm would consider selling shares, not a firm target. He added there had been strong interest at that ceiling but that internal dynamics have slowed progress. One recurring complication: some existing shareholders are reluctant to sell equity. Those holdouts have made it harder to structure a larger transaction and are a key reason advisers are eyeing a more modest raise. This isn’t new — last year Bitcoinist reported Tether weighing options such as share buybacks and even tokenizing company equity on-chain to manage liquidity and capital plans. Tether has also said it blocked at least one shareholder from divesting, calling attempts to circumvent formal processes “imprudent.” Despite the funding uncertainty, Tether’s balance sheet looks strong. The company reported net profits above $10 billion for 2025, and the supply of its flagship stablecoin USDT has grown to roughly $186 billion in circulation. By year‑end Tether reportedly held several billion dollars of excess reserves, with total assets comfortably exceeding liabilities—facts that have helped reassure markets about the firm’s ability to back a large stablecoin float. Tether is also diversifying its reserves: filings and public statements show it bought about 27 metric tons of gold in the final quarter of the year. At the same time, the company is expanding its U.S. presence with the launch of a dollar‑pegged stablecoin tailored for that market, USA₮. The developments leave Tether at a crossroads: a highly cash-generative, well‑capitalized issuer facing internal shareholder frictions and investor skepticism over lofty valuation talk. How the company ultimately sizes and structures the raise will be closely watched by investors and the wider crypto markets. Sources: Financial Times, Bitcoinist. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news