Tether Holdings SA is exploring options to tokenize its shares or conduct buybacks to ensure liquidity for investors amid its planned $20 billion capital raise, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
The discussions arise as the company seeks a $500 billion valuation with its current $20 billion fundraising efforts and management prevented a shareholder from selling at a level that valued Tether at $280 billion.
Tether called the sale “unauthorized” and confirmed it would not proceed.
“It would be imprudent, and indeed reckless, for any investor to attempt to circumvent the established process led by Tier 1 Global Investment Banks or to engage with parties not authorized by Tether’s management,” Tether said in a statement to Bloomberg.
The company has reportedly held talks with SoftBank Group and Ark Investment Management regarding its recent capital raise. Tether has not disclosed plans for a public offering, so new and existing investors may face long waiting periods to exit their positions without alternative liquidity mechanisms.
Tokenization serves as a potential solution by creating digital representations of equity that can trade on blockchains. This method can offer faster transactions and lower costs compared to traditional private secondary markets.
Last year, Tether launched its own tokenization platform, Hadron by Tether, in November 2024. The platform allows users to convert assets such as stocks, bonds, and stablecoins into digital tokens.
Market interest in tokenized equity is growing across the crypto sector. Galaxy Digital offered a tokenized version of its shares on the Solana blockchain in September, and the SEC just approved the DTCC to offer tokenized trading of specific assets as well. The total value of real-world assets traded over blockchains has tripled this year to approximately $18 billion.
Tether forecasts its profit may reach roughly $15 billion this year, and the company currently has $186 billion of its USDT token in circulation.
