Tether’s $20B Funding Bid at $500B Valuation Leaves Circle in the Dust

Tether just dropped a nuclear warhead on stablecoin competition.

The USDt issuer aims to raise a staggering $20 billion while commanding a half-trillion dollar valuation—making Circle's USDC look like pocket change by comparison.

Valuation Game Changer

At $500 billion, Tether would eclipse traditional finance giants and cement crypto's dominance. That's not just big—it's central-bank-sized territory for a company that started as a blockchain experiment.

Funding Firepower

$20 billion in fresh capital would give Tether unprecedented war chest to expand beyond stablecoins into everything from AI to real-world asset tokenization. Meanwhile, Circle's still playing catch-up with regulatory approvals.

Market Domination

Tether's move signals stablecoins aren't just settlement tokens anymore—they're becoming the plumbing of global finance. And apparently, the market's willing to pay investment-banker premiums for crypto infrastructure that actually works.

Because nothing says 'mature asset class' like a valuation that would make most sovereign wealth funds blush.

Tether to Return to The US

The transaction WOULD involve new equity rather than existing investors selling their stakes, and Cantor Fitzgerald is acting as the lead adviser. The El Salvador-based firm has generated massive profits from investing stablecoin reserves in US Treasurys and other cash-like assets. Tether made $4.9 billion in the second quarter, and Ardoino claims it has a 99% profit margin.

Tether faced a lot of pushback and regulatory hurdles under the anti-crypto Biden administration, but it is furthering plans to return to the US under the new pro-crypto Trump administration. The firm named a new CEO, former White House crypto official Bo Hines, for its US business. It also launched a new stablecoin for American markets called USAT, which will be regulated under the GENIUS Act.

Beyond stablecoins, Tether plans to use funds for diversification into AI, commodity trading, energy, communications, and media sectors.

Lumida Wealth Management founder Ram Ahluwalia said, “Last year, I noted we wanted to own a slice of Tether, and got a lot of funny looks. It’s one of the best businesses in the world.”

Meanwhile, Arthur Hayes said it would spell the end for Circle.

Next up a US IPO. Bye bye ⁦@circle⁩ pic.twitter.com/tYDehemys4

— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) September 24, 2025

Tether Supply Keeps Growing

The circulating supply of USDT is currently at a record high of $173 billion, giving it a market share of 56% of the total stablecoin supply. Its closest rival, USDC, has a supply of $74 billion, giving it a market share of 25%.

Tether supply has grown 26% since the beginning of this year as stablecoin demand has surged, driven by the passage of the GENIUS Act earlier this year.

Additionally, total stablecoin market capitalization is approaching a record $300 billion, according to CoinGecko.