Richard Heathcote, who ran Tether's investment portfolio until earlier this year, is working with investment bank PJT Partners to sell part of his 1.26% holding in the company, Bloomberg reported on July 6. Tether has not commented on the process, and no buyer, price, or timeline has been disclosed.
The stake is small in percentage terms and enormous in dollar terms. Tether pitched investors on a valuation of roughly $500 billion during its capital raise attempt over the past year. At that number, 1.26% of the company would be worth about $6.3 billion, and even a partial sale would rank among the largest insider liquidity events in crypto's history.
The March Exit That Set This Up
Heathcote stepped back from day-to-day duties on March 12, 2026, moving into a non-executive advisory role. Tether's announcement credited him with expanding the reserves backing USDT into the hundreds of billions and making the company one of the largest private holders of US Treasury bills anywhere. Zachary Lyons, his former deputy, took over as chief investment officer.
The stated reason for the transition was personal and family priorities. Four months later, the mandate to PJT Partners suggests the next step: converting paper wealth in a private company into cash. That is a normal move for a departing executive. It only draws attention because of whose equity it is.
Price Discovery for a Company That Avoids It
Tether is private, El Salvador-based, and publishes attestations rather than full audits. Its equity has no public price. The closest thing to a market read came from its own fundraising effort, which asked investors for $15 billion to $20 billion at a valuation that could reach $500 billion, with a two-week commitment deadline.
That effort ran into resistance. CoinDesk, citing the Financial Times, reported in February that Tether scaled back the raise after prospective backers balked at the size and the valuation, with advisers discussing a smaller round of roughly $5 billion instead. Investors questioned how a stablecoin issuer, however profitable, could command a price tag in the same league as SpaceX and OpenAI.
Heathcote's sale now runs the same test from the other direction. A secondary sale by an insider sets a real clearing price, one negotiated by a seller who knows the company's books as well as anyone alive. Whatever discount or premium the stake trades at will say more about Tether's true valuation than any pitch deck.
A Seller Who Knows Exactly Where the Money Is
The detail that makes this sale unusual is the seller's vantage point. As CIO, Heathcote managed the portfolio that backs USDT, deepened Tether's relationship with Cantor Fitzgerald, and oversaw a reserve base that stood above $187 billion. Tether reports profits of about $10 billion a year.
None of that means he is selling because of something he saw. Diversification is reason enough when a single private holding represents this much personal net worth. But buyers will read the trade both ways, and the price they offer will reflect that tension. A strong bid validates the $500 billion story. A weak one confirms what the stalled capital raise already hinted.
There is a quieter question underneath: how many other insiders hold stakes like this, and whether a completed Heathcote sale opens a path for more of them to follow. Tether equity has been almost impossible to buy. A working secondary market would change that.
Overview
Richard Heathcote, Tether's former CIO, has hired PJT Partners to sell part of his 1.26% stake in the company, per Bloomberg. He left the CIO role on March 12, 2026, handing over to deputy Zachary Lyons, and moved to a non-executive advisory position. The sale lands months after Tether's attempt to raise $15-20 billion at a valuation near $500 billion was scaled back toward a smaller round amid investor pushback. At the full $500 billion figure, his stake would be worth about $6.3 billion. The price this sale actually clears at will be the most honest data point yet on Tether's valuation.
