Tether Slashes Equity Raise Amid Investor Backlash

Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, has scaled back its planned multibillion-dollar equity raise after investors pushed back on a proposed valuation of roughly $500 billion. The company had been exploring a sale of up to $15-20 billion in shares from existing insiders.

Advisers now suggest the raise could be closer to $5 billion or may not proceed at all, according to reports. CEO Paolo Ardoino said the larger figure represented a maximum they were prepared to sell and added that Tether would be 'very happy' even if no shares changed hands.

Tether reportedly generated about $10 billion in profit last year, but still relies on quarterly attestations from BDO Italia rather than a full audit. S&P has classified its reserves at the weakest rating tier.