Stablecoin issuer Tether is reportedly in talks with investors to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion in a deal that would value the company at $500 billion. The report also said a $500 billion valuation would put Tether around the value of OpenAI and SpaceX and above its closest rival, Circle, which is valued at about $30 billion. Hines told Bloomberg Television that Tether wants to be “the largest player in the U.S. market” and that it aims to serve consumers who are underbanked or underserved and enterprises clients, including banks. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg Television on Sept. 16 that the company made $13.7 billion in profit last year and does not plan to go public because it does not need the capital. When Tether released a partial audit in May, it showed top-line figures of $149.28 billion in total assets against $143.68 billion in liabilities for fiat-backed stablecoin holdings.