If Tether falls short of $500B worth of demand, it could delay fundraising.
Tether is pushing investors for a $500 billion funding round in the next two weeks and has said it may delay the increase if demand is weak.
The El Salvador-based firm has been seeking new capital since late last year but has faced opposition from investors pending its valuation, The Information reported Friday, citing unnamed sources. If commitments fall below expectations, the company may delay the increase.
The $500 billion target puts Tether ahead of all U.S. banks except JPMorgan Chase. The world's largest bank, JPMorgan, has a market capitalization of $794.55 billion, while the country's second largest bank, Bank of America, has a market capitalization of $352.86 billion.
Tether's USDt (USDT) stotcoin, the world's largest stolkcoin, currently has a market cap of $184 billion. The company's other top products are Tether Gold (XAUt) and Tether EURt (EURt), which are pegged to the euro.
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Tether investigates fundraising.
In September of last year, Bloomberg reported that Tether was exploring a fundraising round of up to $20 billion, valuing the company at around $500 billion. The company was looking to raise $15 billion to $20 billion in a private placement for a 3% stake, with Cantor Fitzgerald acting as lead adviser.
After the report, CEO Paolo Arduino said on X that the company is exploring the increase from a select group of investors to expand “existing and new business lines (stablecoins, distribution space, AI, commodity trading, energy, communication, media) in several large orders”.
However, in comments to Cointelegraph in February, Arduino denied reports that it was planning to raise up to $20 billion, saying the earlier figures were hypothetical scenarios rather than an active fundraising plan. Still, he defended the $500 billion estimate, comparing the company's profits to AI platforms like OpenAI.
Cointelegraph reached out to Tether for comment, but did not receive a response by publication.
Related: Tether Says ‘Big Four' Firm to Host First Full Audit of USDT Reserves
For the first full audit od USDt knocks KPMG.
Meanwhile, Tether has reportedly hired KPMG to conduct the first full audit of USDt's financial statements, while PwC helped set up internal systems, the Financial Times reported. The move follows years of backup credentials from BDO Italia rather than a comprehensive audit.
A full audit goes beyond the standby screenshots to examine the assets, liabilities and internal controls on Tether's balance sheet.
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