USDT's parent company Tether plans to raise $20 billion, with a valuation of $500 billion

According to Bloomberg, stablecoin giant Tether is planning to raise up to $20 billion through a private placement, potentially valuing the company at approximately $500 billion, putting it on par with leading unicorns like OpenAI and SpaceX.

Cantor Fitzgerald will serve as lead advisor for the offering. Tether, the issuer of USDT, holds the largest market capitalization in the stablecoin market at approximately $172.8 billion. By comparison, the USDT issued by recently listed Circle ranks second with a market capitalization of $74 billion.

The news of this fundraising comes just as Tether announced strong second-quarter results: net profit of $4.9 billion and total reserve assets of $162.5 billion, exceeding its $157.1 billion in liabilities, including approximately $8.9 billion in Bitcoin holdings.

Tether's bold pursuit of a high valuation stems from its dominant position in the stablecoin market and strong profitability. However, competition in the stablecoin market is becoming increasingly fierce. A JPMorgan report points out that this is essentially a "zero-sum game," with issuers vying for existing market share.

To address regulation and expand into the US market, Tether is actively pursuing a regulatory compliance transformation. The company plans to launch a new stablecoin, USAT, compliant with the US GENIUS Act. It has also appointed Bo Hines, former Executive Director of Trump's Digital Asset Advisory Council, as CEO of its US operations, leveraging his political influence to strengthen its compliance capabilities.

Furthermore, Tether has close ties to the Trump administration. Howard Lutnick, former CEO of its reserve asset custodian, Cantor Fitzgerald, is currently US Secretary of Commerce, providing a significant endorsement of its confidence in the US market.

Tether's strategic shift demonstrates a shift from circumventing regulation to actively embracing and even influencing the regulatory framework. Successfully operating in compliance in the US will not only clear valuation barriers but also potentially attract a wider range of institutional capital.

While Tether's $500 billion valuation rivals that of tech giants, it also underscores a quiet revolution in financial infrastructure. Stablecoins are reshaping the way global value flows, and the traditional banking intermediary model faces a dimensionality-reducing impact from "code-as-settlement." The future of finance may lie behind this groundbreaking financing.