Tether Holdings Ltd., the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin USDT, is reportedly exploring the tokenization of its equity following a planned share sale aiming to raise up to $20 billion, which would value the company at approximately $500 billion. According to a Bloomberg report, the company is not planning to allow existing shareholders to participate in the main fundraising round, potentially leaving them without immediate liquidity until a future initial public offering (IPO), for which no timeline has been set.
The consideration of tokenizing equity stakes is seen as a potential alternative liquidity path for investors. This would involve creating digital, blockchain-based representations of Tether's stock. The company's existing tokenization platform, Hadron, launched in November 2024, provides a framework for such an initiative, as it enables the minting of tokenized stocks, bonds, and commodities.
The discussions around tokenization and other exit mechanisms, such as traditional share buybacks, gained urgency after Tether management intervened to halt at least one existing shareholder's attempt to sell a stake at a steep discount. Bloomberg reported that this proposed sale would have valued Tether at around $280 billion, significantly below the target $500 billion valuation. Tether stated it had "received clear confirmation that these efforts will not proceed," calling attempts to bypass its formal fundraising process "imprudent" and "reckless."
The $500 billion target valuation would place Tether among the world's most valuable private companies, far surpassing its crypto industry peers. The firm has held talks with strategic investors including SoftBank Group Corp. and Ark Investment Management LLC as part of the fundraising effort. Tether, which forecasts profits of about $15 billion this year, has a circulating supply of its USDT stablecoin worth roughly $186 billion.
While the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) is a growing trend, with the total market value surpassing $18 billion according to rwa.xyz data, it remains a tiny fraction of global traditional markets. Other firms like Galaxy Digital, Kraken, and Robinhood have also experimented with tokenized equity offerings.
