1.26% Tether Equity Stake Sale Could Price USDT Issuer for First Time

4 hours ago 12

One of the most opaque corners of the crypto industry just got a rare crack of light. Richard Heathcote, the former chief investment officer of Tether Holdings SA, is planning a Tether equity stake sale — offloading part of his 1.26% holding in the issuer of USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin by circulating supply. The process is being managed by Wall Street investment bank PJT Partners, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the development citing sources not authorized to speak publicly.

Key takeaways

Richard Heathcote holds a 1.26% stake in Tether Holdings SA and is selling part of it via PJT Partners.
No buyer or sale price has been disclosed; negotiations are ongoing.
Heathcote stepped down as CIO in March 2026 and moved into a non-executive advisory role, replaced by deputy Zachary Lyons.
Tether has historically disclosed almost nothing about its capitalization table or executive equity positions.
A completed transaction could offer the first market-set signal on Tether’s valuation below its founder level.

Richard Heathcote’s Planned Equity Stake Sale in Tether

The mechanics of the deal are still taking shape. Heathcote is working with PJT Partners to find buyers for a portion of his holding in the San Salvador, El Salvador-based company, with discussions reportedly underway. Neither a final price nor a named buyer has emerged publicly, and sources declined to discuss the company’s potential valuation.

What makes the move notable is not just the percentage involved. Tether has historically disclosed almost nothing about its capitalization table — who owns what, at what value, and under what terms. The company rarely offers detailed information on the equity stakes held by its executives. That silence has made it genuinely difficult for outsiders to gauge how ownership is distributed below the founder level.

Running the sale through a recognized Wall Street advisory firm like PJT Partners changes the equation somewhat. If a transaction closes and a price eventually becomes known, it would provide one of the first concrete, market-validated data points on how investors actually value a piece of Tether Holdings SA. That alone makes it worth watching closely.

Executive Leadership Changes at Tether

Heathcote’s Transition to Advisory Role

Heathcote’s departure from day-to-day operations was confirmed by Tether in March, when the company announced he was stepping down as CIO to move into a non-executive advisory role. The transition was orderly on the surface — his deputy was already in place — but the timing takes on new significance now that a stake sale has entered the picture.

During his tenure as CIO, Heathcote had been responsible for overseeing the reserves backing USDT. That is not a minor function: managing those reserves is central to the stablecoin’s credibility and operational integrity. He also reportedly steered an aggressive investment strategy that extended into soccer clubs and humanoid-robotics ventures.

Zachary Lyons as New CIO

Zachary Lyons, previously Heathcote’s deputy, took over as chief investment officer following the transition. The handover kept institutional knowledge in place, at least structurally, though Lyons now faces the task of managing reserves and investment strategy at a moment when the stablecoin sector faces growing competitive and regulatory pressure.

Why This Sale Matters for Tether’s Ownership Transparency

Tether’s valuation has been a subject of significant market curiosity — and some controversy. Earlier this year, the company scaled back from reported plans to raise as much as $20 billion after encountering investor resistance to a proposed $500 billion valuation that would have ranked it among the world’s most valuable private companies. Advisers subsequently pursued a more modest $5 billion raise. Tether also reported a full-year profit of more than $10 billion for 2025.

Against that backdrop, a secondary stake sale by a former executive carries more weight than it might for an ordinary private company. If PJT Partners succeeds in placing Heathcote’s equity and any transaction terms become public, the market would effectively be pricing a slice of Tether for the first time outside of a company-controlled fundraising process. That kind of external price discovery is something the broader crypto industry — and regulators paying close attention to USDT’s systemic role — has not had before.

USDT’s continued dominance in the stablecoin market means any transparency event around Tether ownership carries outsized implications. The stablecoin’s position as the largest by circulating supply makes Tether’s internal governance and ownership structure a matter of genuine market-wide interest, not just niche curiosity.

Tether did not respond to requests for comment on the planned sale. PJT Partners declined to comment. Heathcote could not be reached.

Whether the transaction ultimately closes at a price that becomes public remains an open question. But the fact that a former CIO is engaging a Wall Street bank to facilitate the exit — rather than a quiet bilateral arrangement — suggests this is a process designed to attract serious institutional interest, not just a routine housekeeping move.

FAQ

Who is Richard Heathcote in relation to Tether?

Richard Heathcote is the former chief investment officer of Tether Holdings SA. He oversaw the reserves backing USDT until stepping down in March 2026, when he transitioned to a non-executive advisory role.