Tether Is Dancing While the Crypto Music Still Plays

Tether Holdings SA, issuer of the world’s largest cryptocurrency stablecoin, is in talks with investors to raise as much as $20 billion in a deal that could value it on par with OpenAI and SpaceX, according to Bloomberg News. That would be a remarkable victory lap for a company — and industry — that’s been in the crosshairs of regulators over opaque financial disclosures and possible sanctions violations. But it also feels like a case of dancing nearer the door while the music is still playing in a very racy market environment.

If the prospect of El Salvador-based Tether raising money at a $500 billion valuation can be discussed without laughing, it’s because of a combination of things: A Trump administration so pro-crypto it’s pardoning well-known industry convicts and launching its own lucrative tokens, a boom in all things stablecoin as traditional financial institutions flock to digital assets and the sheer scale of profit Tether is generating.