Tether's $200 Billion Valuation Raises Transparency Concerns in Crypto Industry

Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, has reached an estimated private valuation of $200 billion, making it one of the world's most valuable yet opaque financial giants. Despite its massive scale and role as a major buyer of U.S. debt, Tether has never released a full financial audit. Recent filings indicate executive Giancarlo Devasini has consolidated over 50% voting control, while the firm's relocation to El Salvador and its $10 billion connection to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have sparked intense political and regulatory scrutiny.

Tether $200 billion valuation

• ▪Tether has become a larger buyer of United States government debt than either Saudi Arabia or South Korea.
• ▪Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, has reached an estimated private valuation of $200 billion, exceeding the total share value of McDonald's.
• ▪Tether employs a workforce of just a few hundred people, resulting in low overhead costs and high profit margins.

Ownership structure opacity

• ▪Tether ownership records from around 2018 listed Kristian Hansen as holding a 6.6 percent stake, which would be worth over $13 billion under Forbes' valuation.
• ▪Tether has never publicly disclosed a full picture of its ownership structure, making it highly opaque compared to publicly traded firms of similar size.
• ▪In early 2016, Giancarlo Devasini owned 100 percent of Tether Holdings, the British Virgin Islands-registered parent company of Tether.
• ▪In January 2016, Tether representatives arranged to transfer at least 55 percent of Giancarlo Devasini's shares in Tether Holdings to Jean-Louis van der Velde.
• ▪Tether ownership documents from around 2018 showed Jean-Louis van der Velde's share had fallen to 15 percent, while Giancarlo Devasini's share rose back to 43 percent.
• ▪Tether ownership records from around 2018 listed Paolo Ardoino as owning 3.5 percent of the firm, though Forbes estimates Ardoino now owns 20 percent.

Devasini control consolidation

• ▪United States public filings from early 2025 indicate that Giancarlo Devasini has consolidated power, holding a greater than 50 percent voting interest in Tether.
• ▪Former Tether CEO Jean-Louis van der Velde disappeared from Tether's United States public investment filings in early 2025.

El Salvador corporate relocation

• ▪Tether relocated its corporate registration from the British Virgin Islands to El Salvador, a jurisdiction that has not signed global tax transparency pledges.
• ▪Tether's public corporate filings reviewed in El Salvador provide no disclosure regarding the company's current ownership structure.

Lutnick Cantor Fitzgerald stake

• ▪Tether loaned money to trust funds benefiting Howard Lutnick's four children a few months after the passage of the Genius Act stablecoin legislation.
• ▪United States Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden sent an April 2025 letter to Tether questioning whether the firm sought to influence Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
• ▪Cantor Fitzgerald, led by United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, acquired rights to a 5 percent stake in Tether in 2024, valued at roughly $10 billion.

Reserve audit concerns

• ▪Tether has never released a full financial audit of its reserves, though the company reported commissioning one in early 2025.
• ▪In 2021, Tether paid a $41 million fine to United States authorities to settle allegations that it misrepresented the dollar reserves backing its stablecoin.
• ▪Tether has backed its tokens in part by purchasing gold, storing billions of dollars in gold bars inside a repurposed nuclear bunker in Switzerland.

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