TBW - Tether, soon to be valued at $500 billion?
Tether has never ceased to surprise. The issuer of USDT, the world's largest stablecoin with a capitalisation of $172 billion, is reportedly in talks with investors to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion.
According to Bloomberg, the deal would target around 3% of the capital and value the company at around $500 billion. Enough to put this crypto giant on a par with OpenAI or SpaceX in the rankings of unlisted behemoths.
Such a raise raises questions: why would Tether, which posted $4.9 billion in profits in the second quarter and boasts a margin close to 99%, need to raise money?
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Record revenues with USDT
Tether's model is simple: every USDT issued corresponds to a dollar placed in reserve. These funds, massively invested in US Treasury bonds, are now earning billions. At the end of June, the company claimed in a transparency report to have $162 billion in reserves, including $105 billion in US government debt.
A colossal windfall that has enabled it to report quarter after quarter higher profits than many major banks.
But the context is changing. The forecast fall in US interest rates is threatening the returns on its investments. To maintain its pace of profits and establish the credibility of the USDT, Tether is seeking to diversify its revenues beyond US debt alone.
In addition, none of Tether's stablecoins comply with the European MiCA regulation, which has prevented exchange platforms from offering them to their customers since 1 January 2025.
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Agriculture as a new playground
It is against this backdrop that Tether has stepped up its operations in the real economy. In May, the company paid around $620 million to acquire 73.9% of Adecoagro, a New York-listed agribusiness group. This company farms more than 210,000 hectares of land in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, produces rice, maize and dairy products and converts sugar cane into electricity, ethanol and carbon credits.
With $1.5 billion in annual sales and a net margin of 14% in 2024, Adecoagro gives Tether a solid foothold in agrifood and renewable energy. The group, a partner of start-up Agrotoken specialising in the tokenisation of agricultural commodities, also embodies an ideal bridge between decentralised finance and the productive economy.
>> Tether invests in StablR to continue operating in the EU
Gold, another strategic pillar
Tether is also looking at precious metals. According to the Financial Times, the company plans to invest in the entire gold chain, from mining to trading to royalty companies. It already holds nearly 250,000 Tether Gold (XAUT) tokens, backed by more than 7.6 tonnes of gold stored in Switzerland, and has acquired around 33% of Canadian Elemental Altus Royalties, which specialises in mining royalties.
This move, which has taken the conservative gold sector by surprise, is part of a strategy to diversify and secure revenues. As Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, sums it up, the aim is to invest in the "fundamental infrastructures of tomorrow".
A raise to transform the trial
The ambition to raise up to $20 billion could meet several needs: strengthening the company's balance sheet, financing new investments in the real economy, and preparing its return to the United States in a political context that has become favourable again with the Trump administration.
In fact, on 12 September the company announced a new stablecoin dollar (USAT) designed to comply with US regulations (GENIUS Act).
As Tether moves away from its image as a stablecoin issuer "in the grey area" to become a strategic player in agriculture, energy and commodities, one question remains: how far will the company go?
>> Paolo Ardoino (Tether): "After the USDT, we want to disrupt many sectors"
