Ex-Tether CIO’s Stake Sale Puts Private Ownership on Test

Former Tether chief investment officer Richard Heathcote is looking to sell part of his 1.26% stake in the stablecoin issuer, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, in what could become one of the few public markers for a private company that has so far refused to list its shares. Heathcote is working with PJT Partners and has begun talks with potential buyers. People familiar with the matter declined to comment on a potential valuation.

The reported sale comes after Heathcote stepped back from daily duties in March, when Tether named Zachary Lyons as its new chief investment officer. Heathcote stayed on at Tether in a non-executive advisory role. Bloomberg reported that Heathcote has received approval from Tether to sell the stock.

The Sale Tether Once Tried to Block

Late last year Tether intervened to stop some existing shareholders from running their own secondary sale process, Bloomberg reported, citing concerns that such a transaction would undermine the primary deal the company was preparing. Heathcote’s transaction carries Tether’s approval. That makes his sale unusual inside the company’s own history of keeping secondary trades in a narrow lane. The intervention shows Tether was willing to police shareholder exits to protect the headline deal it was preparing.

Tether earlier this year paused plans to raise money at a valuation as high as $500 billion, Bloomberg reported in March. The pause came as the company waits on results of its first full financial audit, a job it handed to one of the Big Four accounting firms. Investors and bankers had pushed Tether for greater transparency before talks stalled.

Who the Seller Actually Is

Heathcote joined Tether in January 2023 from Cantor Fitzgerald’s BGC Group, where he had been a broker. As CIO he ran Tether’s investment portfolio, a role that put him in charge of deploying the company’s surplus capital into ventures ranging from soccer to robotics. Bloomberg described him as a competitive fisherman outside the office. He stepped back from the day-to-day role in March.

The investment portfolio Heathcote ran sits outside the reserves backing USDT, per Tether’s Q1 2026 attestation. It is funded by surplus capital and profits, and held through a separate vehicle called Tether Investments. That separation matters for buyers weighing the stake, since the asset on offer is a piece of the parent company, not a claim on stablecoin reserves.

Bloomberg reported that Heathcote has received approval from Tether to sell the stock. His transition to an advisory role came with the same March announcement that elevated Lyons to CIO.

The Profits Behind the Stake

Tether reported $1.04 billion in net profit for the first quarter of 2026, with excess reserves reaching $8.23 billion, according to the attestation prepared by accounting firm BDO. The reserve figure marks an all-time high for the company. The Treasury holdings put Tether among the top 20 holders of U.S. Treasuries worldwide, alongside sovereign nations.

• $1.04B Q1 2026 net profit
• $8.23B Excess reserves as of March 31, 2026
• $141B U.S. Treasury exposure

The attestation also showed about $20 billion in gold and about $7 billion in Bitcoin alongside the Treasury bills. Total liabilities stood at $183.5 billion, of which $183.4 billion was tied to issued USDT tokens. Total assets exceeded $191.7 billion. Circulating USDT supply stayed near all-time highs in April. Ardoino said the company’s responsibility is to ensure that USDT operates without compromise in any market conditions.

USDT Still Runs the Stablecoin Table

DefiLlama data referenced in earlier reporting put the total stablecoin market near $312 billion. USDT held roughly 59.05% of that market, with a market capitalization near $184.23 billion. The float makes USDT the largest dollar-pegged token by a wide margin.

That lead keeps USDT central to crypto trading, payments, and exchange liquidity, especially outside the United States. Traders in markets where dollar rails are scarce route through USDT for fast settlement.

Tether’s market cap figure would give a private valuation of the parent company a useful yardstick if the Heathcote sale ever yields a price. For now, no valuation has been disclosed. live stablecoin market cap data on DefiLlama shows USDT in the same neighborhood. The gap between $184.23 billion in circulating supply and any parent-company valuation sits at the center of what this sale cannot settle.

The IPO Question Crypto Won’t Settle

Tether has not announced plans to list its shares. An April 2025 X post from CEO Paolo Ardoino said it bluntly: “Tether doesn’t need to go public.”

Other large crypto firms have taken different paths. Kraken confirmed in November 2025 that it had confidentially filed a draft registration statement with the SEC for a proposed IPO. Related coverage later reported that layoffs and AI-driven restructuring had pushed Kraken’s listing timeline into 2027.

1. April 4, 2025: Ardoino posts “Tether doesn’t need to go public”
2. November 2025: Kraken confidentially files draft S-1 with the SEC
3. March 2026: Heathcote steps down as Tether CIO, becomes advisor
4. July 6, 2026: Revolut stops USDT purchases in Europe
5. August 31, 2026: Revolut’s final deadline to sell or withdraw USDT in Europe

In Europe, Tether is losing access to one of its largest retail venues. Revolut said it would delist USDT for eligible European accounts after the European Union’s MiCA framework took effect.

Users could buy USDT until July 6 and have until August 31 to sell or withdraw supported balances. Any remaining balance converts to the user’s main currency at the current USDT market price. The wind-down gives a concrete shape to how Europe’s regulatory shift bites into USDT’s distribution.

What This Sale Can’t Settle

Bloomberg’s reporting leaves the most-watched number blank. The people familiar with the matter declined to comment on a potential valuation for the Heathcote sale.

That silence is the point. Without a price, the transaction cannot pin down what private investors are willing to pay for a piece of Tether. It does, however, establish that the company will permit secondary sales from departing insiders, a quiet change from last year when Tether intervened to block other shareholders from running their own processes.

The bigger test sits elsewhere. Tether’s pending Big Four audit, the one that pushed the $500 billion valuation talks into pause, will shape the next round of private sales far more than any single insider deal. Heathcote’s transaction offers a window, not a price tag.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much of Tether does Richard Heathcote own?

Heathcote holds 1.26% of Tether, according to Bloomberg. He is selling only part of that stake through PJT Partners, not the full holding.

Who is buying the stake?

Heathcote has begun talks with potential buyers, Bloomberg reported. The buyers were not named, and no valuation was disclosed for the transaction.

Why won’t Tether go public?

Ardoino’s April 2025 X post said “Tether doesn’t need to go public.” A separate $500 billion primary-deal plan was paused earlier this year pending the results of a first full financial audit now being conducted by a Big Four accounting firm.

What is USDT’s market cap?

USDT market capitalization sat near $184.23 billion, holding roughly 59.05% of a total stablecoin market near $312 billion, per DefiLlama data referenced in earlier reporting.