The post Tether abandons huge $20 billion funding ambitions as backers balk at valuation push appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Tether has walked away from plans to raise up to $20 billion after top investors said no to the company’s $500 billion valuation. The crypto giant, based in El Salvador, had started talks last year to raise a massive round that could’ve put it among the most valuable private companies on earth. But the demand didn’t come, and now the number being discussed is just $5 billion. The group, known for its $185 billion dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT, is led by Paolo Ardoino, who tried to downplay the change. “That number is not our goal. It’s our maximum we were ready to sell,” he said. “If we were selling zero, we would be very happy as well.” Paolo said Tether is profitable and never really needed the cash. Investors push back on $500 billion valuation The original goal to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion was floated by Tether’s advisers, but as Paolo put it, it was never a hard target. Now, the pitch has changed. With crypto prices falling and traders pulling away from high-risk assets, investors aren’t biting. The hype around crypto faded fast, even with Donald Trump back in the White House promising easier rules for digital assets. Still, Tether claims to be pulling in billions. Paolo said the company made about $10 billion last year, mostly from the returns on its massive reserves backing USDT.But big names in finance have questioned the logic behind the $500 billion price tag. “The AI companies are making the same amount of profits we’re making, except with a minus sign in the front,” he said. “If you believe that some AI company is worth $800bn, with a huge minus in front, be my guest.” So far, the company hasn’t made any final decisions on how much equity to sell. Paolo…

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Filed under: News - @ February 4, 2026 6:26 am