Tether’s New Value May Top Buffett’s Fortune

Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, is trading on secondary markets at a valuation between $350 billion and $375 billion, according to industry sources. this figure falls below the company’s earlier $500 billion target for its fundraising round, which Bloomberg first reported in September.

This is still considerable to launch its senior leadership to the highest pedestals among global billionaires. Valuation boom shows the increasing financial strength of issuers of stablecoins in international markets.

By the time of the publication of this article, Tether did not make a comment to Forbes on the matter. SoftBank and ARK Invest have already been noted as possible participants in the fundraise of Tether, however, a source close to the situation said that SoftBank is not an investor. ARK Invest, a company led by Cathie Wood, refused to comment as well.

Previous news indicated that originally the crypto giant based in El Salvador wanted up to 20 billion dollars to purchase about 3 percent of the business. Financial Times reported though that advisers floated with as little as $5 billion when they met investor hesitation. The movement demonstrates the more reticent approach in fundraising in case of unstable crypto markets.

At this stage, according to the talks with crypto investors and executives, Forbes estimates Tether at about 200 billion dollars. Such a figure is way better than the $50 billion estimate that had been allocated only a year ago and would be a huge windfall to Cantor Fitzgerald.

Its stated 5 percent ownership will now be estimated to be worth approximately 10 billion dollars, which is a significant difference compared to its 600 million valuation in 2023.

Tether Valuation Surge Reshapes Billionaire Rankings

At a $200 billion valuation, Tether CFO Giancarlo Devasini owns an estimated 44–45% stake, which would value his Buffett’s Fortune at about $89 billion. CEO Paolo Ardoino and former chief executive Jean-Louis van der Velde each hold roughly 19% of the company, giving them potential fortunes of up to $38 billion apiece.

Devasini has a valuation of 350 billion coinciding to a stake of over 156 billion. Such immense wealth would place him among the world’s top 10 richest individuals, surpassing Warren Buffett’s Fortune, whose net worth stood at $147.8 billion as of Thursday. This possible re-arrangement of the world hierarchy in wealth highlighting the meteoric arrival of Tether.

Tether reported roughly $10 billion in unaudited profit last year, driven largely by yields from the reserves backing its stablecoin USDT. The token’s market capitalization stands at $184 billion, and the company invests more than 80% of its reserves in U.S. Treasury bills and other short-term investments. Good demand and no payouts required to holders have enhanced profitability.

Profit Engine and Expansion Beyond Stablecoins

Having no need to divide investment returns with users, Tether has gone well beyond stablecoins. The company has developed massive stakes in commodities and crypto, owning about 23 billion in gold and 6.4 billion in bitcoin. It also has a portfolio of ventures with more than 120 companies that are worth more than 10 billion dollars.

In 2024, it has made new investments in Rumble and Whop.com of $775 million and $200 million respectively. Ardoino has stated that the company works on a 99% profit margin and has a lean workforce of approximately 300 employees. The result of such efficiency has solidified its image as one of the most lucrative businesses in crypto.

Ardoino also unveiled plans to construct an artificial intelligence platform, and new data, energy and education divisions last year. Such diversification works are indicative of the desires of Tether to become a larger technology and financial powerhouse. The plan makes the issuance of stablecoins less dependent.

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Rising Competition and Regulatory Scrutiny

The push to raise money by Tether does not seem to be about liquidity, but instead enhances the institutional credibility, especially in the United States. Recently, the company introduced a stablecoin that is U.S.-compliant, the USAT, in which the issuer is the Anchorage Digital Bank. Tether has a new director of the U.S. unit, Hines, a former executive director of the White House Crypto Council.

Stablecoin competition is building up. Circle is still growing USDC, Stripe and Paradigm announced a blockchain named Tempo with UBS, Deutsche Bank, OpenAI and Anthropic among others. Meanwhile, Meta is reportedly considering a return to stablecoins to power payments after it abandoned its Libra project.

There is also an increase in regulatory pressure. The GenIUS Act, which was signed into law in July, was recently announced by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to provide oversight over stablecoin issuers in foreign payment that have Tether as an example. Heightened regulation would define the following phase of development of the largest stablecoins operator on the planet.