Richard Heathcote, the former Chief Investment Officer of Tether Holdings SA, is moving to sell a portion of his equity stake in the stablecoin issuer.
According to reports from Bloomberg on July 6, Heathcote is working with the investment bank PJT Partners to engage potential buyers for a fraction of his 1.26% holding in the company. This rare secondary market offering provides a unique window into the ownership structure of the firm behind USDT, the world’s most widely used stablecoin.
Richard Heathcote seeks buyers for 1.26% Tether holding
Heathcote stepped down from his executive role as CIO in March 2026 to transition into a non-executive advisory position, relinquishing his day-to-day responsibilities. His deputy, Zachary Lyons, succeeded him and currently manages the company’s investment operations. During his tenure, Heathcote directed the reserves backing USDT and led an aggressive investment strategy that included diverse ventures ranging from European soccer clubs to humanoid robotics projects.
The planned sale comes at a time of massive profitability for the San Salvador-based firm. Tether Holdings SA reported that its full-year profit for 2025 exceeded $10 billion, a figure that underscores its dominant position in the digital asset market.
For investors, the sale process facilitated by PJT Partners offers a rare chance to establish a market-validated valuation for a private entity that has historically disclosed very little about its capitalization table or executive equity stakes.
While negotiations with potential buyers are ongoing, no final price or specific buyer has been disclosed. The liquidity of Tether’s internal equity has been a point of contention in the past; earlier in 2026, the company reportedly intervened to block other shareholders from conducting their own secondary sales.
However, Heathcote has reportedly received official approval from the company to proceed with this specific transaction. The current shifting investor sentiment toward established stablecoin infrastructure makes this a closely watched deal.
Valuation benchmarks and the transparency push
The quest to pin a “fair market value” on Tether has seen significant fluctuations over the last year. The company initially considered a fundraising round of up to $20 billion, with internal discussions floating a potential valuation as high as $500 billion. However, that target was later adjusted down to $5 billion by advisors.
These fundraising plans were eventually paused as investors demanded greater financial transparency while the firm undergoes a full audit by a “Big Four” accounting firm.
The outcome of Heathcote’s stake sale could serve as a litmus test for institutional appetite. A high premium would validate Tether’s role as a primary profit engine in the crypto sector, while a discount might suggest that investors are weighing regulatory risks or the macro warning signs affecting the broader global economy.
Tether has previously been urged to address social and political complexities, such as when groups called for the company to transfer frozen USDT to victims of regional conflicts.
Zachary Lyons leads reserves amid record supply
As Heathcote prepares his partial exit, Zachary Lyons faces the task of managing a reserve that supports a historic volume of digital dollars. The circulating supply of USDT currently stands at approximately $184 billion, representing the lion’s share of a total stablecoin supply that now exceeds $291 billion across all issuers.
This scale has effectively turned Tether into a cornerstone of global crypto liquidity, comparable to a private-sector central bank.
Heathcote originally joined the firm in January 2023, following a career at BGC Group, which is linked to Cantor Fitzgerald. His era was defined by a rapid expansion of the treasury into non-traditional assets.
Now, as the firm matures, the sale of his stake through a Wall Street bank represents another step toward more traditional corporate behavior. Whether this leads to further secondary market activity or remains an isolated executive exit will depend on how the upcoming audit and regulatory climate evolve in the second half of 2026.