Tether is making a final push to close a fundraising round at a $500 billion valuation, according to a report from The Information cited by Cointelegraph on April 2, 2026. The move comes two months after the stablecoin issuer scaled back its original $15 to $20 billion capital raise to roughly $5 billion following investor resistance to the price tag.
From $20 Billion to $5 Billion to "Final Push"
The fundraising saga started in September 2025, when Tether floated plans to raise $15 to $20 billion through a private placement that would value the company at approximately $500 billion. That would have ranked Tether among the most valuable private companies on Earth, above SpaceX and alongside ByteDance.
Investors did not agree. By February 2026, the Financial Times reported that advisers had slashed the target to roughly $5 billion after prospective backers questioned both the deal size and whether a stablecoin issuer with no completed audit deserved a valuation on par with the world's largest tech companies.
CEO Paolo Ardoino pushed back at the time, calling the larger figures a misunderstanding. "That number is not our goal," he told the FT. "If we were selling zero, we would be very happy as well."
Now, per The Information, Tether is attempting to close the round, still at the $500 billion mark. What changed between February's pullback and April's renewed push is worth examining.
The KPMG Card
On March 27, Tether announced it had hired KPMG to conduct a full audit of its $185 billion USDT reserves, with PwC brought in to prepare internal systems. This would be the company's first independent audit since its founding in 2014, replacing the quarterly attestations published by BDO Italia.
The distinction matters. BDO's attestations verify that Tether holds assets matching USDT in circulation at a single point in time. A full KPMG audit would review assets, liabilities, internal controls, and reporting systems over an extended period. It is the difference between a snapshot and an X-ray.
For investors who cited transparency as a dealbreaker, a Big Four audit in progress could change the calculus. Whether it changes it enough to justify $500 billion is the open question.
The US Expansion Play
Tether's fundraising push does not exist in isolation. In January 2026, the company launched USA₮ (USAT), a federally regulated dollar-backed stablecoin designed to comply with the GENIUS Act's requirements for 1:1 reserves, monthly audits, and custody through Anchorage Digital Bank. Cantor Fitzgerald serves as the reserve custodian.
USAT is already listed on Bybit, Crypto Dot Com, OKX, and Kraken, giving Tether a direct competitor to Circle's USDC on US-regulated rails for the first time. The GENIUS Act framework, which the Treasury published rules for in March 2026, creates a path for Tether to operate domestically rather than through its traditional offshore structure.
This is the narrative Tether is selling to investors: not just a $185 billion stablecoin with $10 billion in annual profit, but a company positioning itself as a regulated US player with audit credibility and a domestic product.
The Valuation Problem
Even with the KPMG audit and USAT, $500 billion is a steep ask. For context:
- Tether reported approximately $10 billion in profit for 2025, putting the valuation at roughly 50x earnings.
- SpaceX's last private valuation was around $350 billion.
- ByteDance, the parent of TikTok, trades at approximately $300 billion in secondary markets.
- S&P Global has previously downgraded Tether's assessment due to increased exposure to bitcoin and gold alongside its Treasury holdings.
The counterargument is that stablecoin infrastructure is becoming the settlement layer for global payments, and Tether controls more than 60% of the market. If the GENIUS Act formalizes stablecoins as part of the US financial system, Tether's moat grows wider. But "if" is doing heavy lifting in that sentence.
What Closing Would Mean
A successful close at $500 billion would make Tether one of the three or four most valuable private companies in the world. It would validate the thesis that stablecoin issuers are not just crypto utilities but financial infrastructure companies worth pricing alongside payment networks and banks.
It would also put pressure on Circle, which has its own IPO ambitions and would suddenly be competing against a Tether armed with fresh capital, a Big Four audit, and a US-regulated product.
For the broader market, the timing is notable. As of April 3, 2026, BTC sits at $66,810 (down 2% in 24 hours), ETH at $2,054 (down 4%), and the Fear & Greed Index reads 29, firmly in fear territory. Tether is trying to close its biggest deal during one of 2026's softer stretches for crypto sentiment.
Overview
Tether is making a final push to close a fundraising round at a $500 billion valuation, according to The Information. The effort comes after a February pullback from an original $15 to $20 billion capital raise. Two recent developments back the renewed attempt: KPMG's hire for Tether's first full audit on March 27, and the January launch of USAT, a US-regulated stablecoin under the GENIUS Act. Whether investors accept a 50x earnings valuation for a stablecoin issuer operating in fear-territory markets will determine if this closes or collapses a second time.
