Behind Tether's $500 billion valuation, a group of low-profile participants is creating the greatest wealth in crypto history

Author: David｜TechFlow

Original Title: The Wealth Stories of Tether’s Secret Shareholders Behind Its $500 Billion Valuation

On September 24, 2025, according to Bloomberg, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, Tether Holdings, is in talks with investors for a new round of financing, planning to sell 3% of its shares to raise $15-20 billion.

If calculated at the upper limit, this deal would value Tether at around $500 billion, making it one of the most valuable private companies in the world.

What does a $500 billion valuation mean?

For comparison, OpenAI was valued at about $300 billion in March this year, and SpaceX at about $450 billion. Tether’s $500 billion target valuation even exceeds the combined market capitalization of two Wall Street giants: Goldman Sachs ($216 billion) and Blackstone ($148 billion).

But what’s truly eye-catching is not the company’s valuation itself, but the people behind this number.

The actual controllers who directly or indirectly hold Tether shares could, if the deal goes through, become some of the wealthiest individuals in crypto history.

As a privately held company registered in the British Virgin Islands, Tether has never proactively disclosed its equity structure. The actual controllers of this company, which manages $170 billion in USDT circulation and almost monopolizes the global crypto trading infrastructure, have always remained behind the scenes.

It wasn’t until 2021, when investigation documents from the New York Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accidentally revealed some equity information; in 2024, Forbes further supplemented this puzzle through multiple sources.

Based on these fragmented but relatively reliable pieces of information, we can finally outline the wealth map behind Tether.

At a $500 billion valuation, Tether’s largest shareholder, a 61-year-old Italian, would own over $200 billion in wealth, surpassing Buffett to become the world’s fifth richest person.

The other core shareholders would also enter the billionaire or tens-of-billions club.

These long-hidden super-rich individuals finally have specific names and faces. Among them are a former plastic surgeon, a programmer who codes until dawn, a Dutchman who studied Chinese in Taiwan, and even a Chinese businessman currently serving a prison sentence.

Behind each person is an unknown story of wealth accumulation.

Chairman: From Plastic Surgeon to World’s Top Five Richest

Giancarlo Devasini

Current Position: Tether Chairman, CFO

Shareholding: 47%

Potential Net Worth: $235 billion (World’s 5th richest)

Giancarlo Devasini may be the most mysterious super-rich figure in the crypto world.

This 61-year-old Italian rarely appears in public, has no social media, and only a handful of public photos can be found, yet he controls 47% of Tether’s shares.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, if the $500 billion valuation becomes reality, he would surpass Buffett to become the world’s fifth richest person, behind only Musk, Ellison (Oracle), Zuckerberg, and Bezos.

However, compared to the stability of his wealth, Devasini’s life trajectory is even more unconventional.

In 1990, Giancarlo Devasini graduated from the University of Milan Medical School and became a plastic surgeon. Two years later, he gave up what outsiders saw as a stable and respectable profession.

After leaving the hospital, Devasini entered the IT trading field, importing computer accessories and selling electronics—doing whatever made money. In 1995, he was required by Microsoft to pay a settlement of 1 million lira for selling pirated software.

In 2008, a fire destroyed his warehouse, and his company went bankrupt and liquidated. At that time, Devasini was 44 years old and almost back to square one.

But it was precisely this bankruptcy that pushed him into the crypto world. In 2012, he invested in the then little-known Bitfinex exchange and gradually took over its operations.

The crypto market at that time was even more volatile than it is now. Devasini keenly noticed the problem: BTC and other cryptocurrencies were too volatile to be used as payment tools.

In 2014, Devasini and tech genius Paolo Ardoino launched a solution: Tether, a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, but the process was far from smooth.

At that time, the market’s willingness to accept stablecoins was far less than it is today. Concerns about stablecoin reserves, audits, and runs were everywhere. Devasini personally pioneered, flying to the Bahamas, Switzerland, and Hong Kong, knocking on the doors of banks one by one, looking for financial institutions willing to open accounts for this “suspicious” project.

In 2016, Bitfinex was hacked and lost 120,000 bitcoins, and everyone thought the company was finished.

Devasini proposed a solution: issue debt tokens (BFX) to affected users, promise to buy them back, and ensure Tether’s normal operation. The market accepted this seemingly far-fetched plan, and USDT instead began explosive growth.

In 2018, Bitfinex had $850 million frozen by payment processor Crypto Capital, facing a liquidity crisis.

Devasini directly chose to use funds from Tether’s reserves to bail out, a decision that attracted the attention of the New York Attorney General, who believed it affected the integrity of USDT’s dollar reserves.

The investigation lasted two years, and Tether eventually paid $18.5 million to settle, but did not admit to any wrongdoing.

After several crises, Devasini’s position became even more solid. Public news and data show his shareholding increased from 43% in 2018 to 47% in 2024.

In March 2025, he was promoted from CFO to Chairman, further consolidating his control.

Now at 61, Devasini still maintains an extremely low profile. No social media, rarely gives media interviews, and only a few public photos exist. From 2017 to 2023, it was reported that he mainly lived in Lugano, Switzerland, where Tether signed a memorandum of cooperation with the city government to promote crypto applications.

(Related reading: Satoshi Nakamoto statue sinks to the bottom of the lake, “Crypto Capital of Europe” anxiety surfaces)

According to the New York Attorney General’s 2021 investigation documents, Devasini played a central role in the operations of Tether and Bitfinex, including handling banking relationships and reserve management.

In 15 years, Devasini completed the transformation from a doctor to a billionaire worth $200 billion.

CEO: The Workaholic Coder

Paolo Ardoino

Current Position: Tether CEO

Shareholding: About 20%

Potential Net Worth: $100 billion

If Giancarlo Devasini is the mysterious brain behind Tether, Paolo Ardoino is the public face of the company.

One never appears in public, the other speaks out on Twitter every day; one gained control through capital operations, the other earned shares through coding.

In 2017, Ardoino made 40,000 code commits on GitHub, averaging over 100 per day. This almost obsessive work intensity defined the rise of this Italian programmer.

In 2014, he joined Bitfinex as a senior software developer, with unknown shareholding at the time; by 2024, Forbes reported he held about 20% of Tether’s shares. If the $500 billion valuation becomes reality, that means $100 billion in wealth.

Ardoino’s connection with Devasini began in London in 2014. According to CoinDesk, Devasini was running Bitfinex at the time and recognized Ardoino’s technical abilities.

From ordinary developer to CEO, Ardoino’s promotion path was clear: promoted to CTO in 2017, and became CEO in December 2023.

But even as CEO, he’s still the one working until the early hours. His Twitter account @paoloardoino often replies to technical questions late at night. When the media questions Tether, he immediately rebuts, such as directly calling a Wall Street Journal critical article a “clown article.”

This frequent communication style fills the information vacuum left by Devasini’s low profile. In a stablecoin business that requires trust, Ardoino became the person users could “see.”

Besides Tether, he also founded the peer-to-peer technology company Holepunch in 2022. Even with multiple roles, he admits he hasn’t taken a formal vacation in nearly a decade.

“I’ve never been to Japan,” he mentioned in an interview, “that’s the home of game consoles and anime, I’ve always wanted to go.”

In April 2024, Forbes listed Ardoino on the global crypto billionaire list, valued at $3.9 billion. But if Tether reaches a $500 billion valuation, that number would be multiplied by 25. At that point, he would join the global hundred-billionaire club.

Former CEO: The Taiwanese Son-in-law Who Often Prays at Temples

Jean-Louis van der Velde

Current Position: Tether Advisor, Bitfinex CEO (former Tether CEO)

Shareholding: 10-15%

Potential Net Worth: $50-75 billion

Among Tether’s executive team, Jean-Louis van der Velde may be the hardest to grasp.

This Dutchman’s Asian story began in 1985. He left his hometown to study Chinese at National Taiwan Normal University. According to his LinkedIn profile, after graduating in 1988, he never returned to the Netherlands and instead put down roots in Asia.

Nearly 40 years later, this former Chinese language student may now possess tens of billions of dollars in wealth.

Van der Velde’s rise in the crypto world was relatively low-key. In 2013, he became co-founder and CEO of Bitfinex. According to the company blog, his role was to “build the holding structure, focusing on developing and investing in fintech and big data-related technologies.”

Simply put, he was responsible for building the company framework and external relations.

Regulatory documents from 2018 show he held about 15% of Tether’s shares. By 2024, his exact shareholding was no longer public, but Forbes still listed him on the crypto billionaire list, valued at $3.9 billion. If he still holds 10-15% of the shares, at a $500 billion valuation, his wealth would reach $50-75 billion.

Unlike Devasini’s mystery and Ardoino’s activity, Van der Velde chose another way to exist: present but invisible.

He has positions and shares, but almost no public statements. Search his name and you’ll find plenty of job information, but almost no personal details.

In October 2023, Van der Velde stepped down as Tether CEO, passing the baton to Ardoino. But he didn’t leave, instead becoming an advisor while continuing as Bitfinex CEO.

There is very little public information about his personal life. According to his LinkedIn, he is fluent in five languages: Dutch, English, Chinese, German, and French. Besides that, the most widely circulated detail comes from a Taiwanese media report:

His wife is Taiwanese, so he is deeply influenced by local culture. Because entrepreneurship is tough, he goes to a temple in northern Taiwan every year to light a lamp and pray for blessings, and if he can’t go in person, he asks someone to do it for him.

Whether this detail is true or not is hard to say, but it does fit his image.

A Westerner deeply influenced by Asian culture, low-key and pragmatic, gradually building a crypto empire in the business soil of the East.

Interestingly, some people have even questioned whether Van der Velde really exists. Some Twitter users have jokingly asked, “Has anyone actually seen the CEO of Bitfinex?” This is, of course, an exaggeration, but it reflects his low profile.

This is different from most KOLs in today’s noisy crypto ecosystem; the strong may not need to be high-profile, may not need to speak out, or even be seen.

Of course, the premise is that you stood in the right place early enough.

Legal Counsel: Resigned After Success

Stuart Hoegner

Former Position: Tether/Bitfinex General Counsel

Shareholding: 13%

Potential Net Worth: $65 billion

In January 2025, Stuart Hoegner updated his Twitter bio: from “General Counsel of Bitfinex and Tether” to “Former General Counsel.”

Hoegner has a unique identity in the crypto world: @bitcoinlawyer. This Twitter account has been active since 2011, three years before Tether was founded.

When most lawyers were still studying whether bitcoin was legal, he was already providing legal services to the industry.

In 2014, Hoegner joined Bitfinex and later became Tether’s general counsel. He protected both companies for 11 years. According to 2018 regulatory documents, he held about 15% of Tether’s shares. By 2024, Forbes reported this had dropped to 13%.

As a lawyer, Hoegner’s work was often at the center of the storm. In 2019, when the New York Attorney General investigated Tether’s $850 million fund issue, he led the legal team’s response. In 2021, when the CFTC fined Tether $41 million over reserve issues, he was also responsible for negotiations.

But unlike typical corporate lawyers, Hoegner is unusually active on social media.

His Twitter not only discusses legal issues but also frequently retweets content supporting bitcoin and rebuts doubts about Tether. This combative stance has made him a well-known figure in the crypto community.

His background is also interesting. Before joining the crypto industry, Hoegner worked in the online poker industry. In 2008, while working at Ultimate Bet poker site, the site was hit by a scandal involving insiders cheating with superuser accounts.

Interestingly, another lawyer from the Ultimate Bet incident, Daniel Friedberg, later became FTX’s chief regulatory officer and played a controversial role in the FTX collapse.

The two former colleagues ended up with very different outcomes in the crypto world.

One escorted a company to a $500 billion valuation, the other witnessed the collapse of the largest crypto empire in history.

Hoegner’s retirement in January 2025 came at a subtle time. The EU’s MiCA regulations had just come into effect, and U.S. stablecoin regulation was accelerating.

As the head of legal, he knew better than anyone the regulatory challenges ahead. Retirement may have been a timely retreat.

If he still holds that 13% stake, the title of “former general counsel” does not prevent him from possibly becoming the richest lawyer in the crypto industry.

The Disappeared Fourth Mysterious Shareholder

Christopher Harborne (UK) / Chakrit Sakunkrit (Thailand)

Shareholding: 13% (2018 data)

Potential Net Worth: $65 billion

On Tether’s shareholder list, there is someone even more mysterious than Van der Velde—he even has two names.

According to the 2021 New York Attorney General’s investigation documents, in 2018, a businessman with dual British and Thai nationality held about 13% of Tether’s shares. In the UK, he is Christopher Harborne; in Thailand, he is Chakrit Sakunkrit.

This is the only “outsider” in Tether’s equity structure. He is neither a founding team member nor an executive, yet holds shares comparable to the general counsel.

There is extremely limited public information about Harborne/Sakunkrit. UK company registration records show he is involved in various fields, from aviation to tech investment. There is even less information from Thailand, only that he uses the name Chakrit Sakunkrit for business activities.

How did he acquire Tether shares, when did he invest, and how much did he invest? None of these key questions have answers.

Even more puzzling, after 2018, this name completely disappeared from all Tether-related documents and reports.

Forbes’ 2024 crypto billionaire list includes the aforementioned Devasini, Ardoino, Van der Velde, and Hoegner, but not Harborne.

He is also absent from the 2025 financing news. A 13% stake, if valued at $500 billion, would be worth $65 billion. If he still holds equity, he would clearly be Tether’s most successful invisible investor.

In a company full of secrets, this person may be the biggest secret.

Wall Street Capital and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce

Institution: Cantor Fitzgerald

Investment Time: November 2024

Shareholding: 5%

Investment Amount: $600 million

Potential Value: $25 billion

In November 2024, Wall Street financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald purchased 5% of Tether for $600 million.

At this price, Tether was valued at only $12 billion at the time. By comparison, competitor Circle’s market cap was about $30 billion, while Tether’s USDT circulation was more than twice that of Circle’s USDC.

Why so cheap? The answer may lie in timing and personal relationships.

The key figure in this deal is Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald. Shortly after completing the investment in November 2024, Lutnick was appointed U.S. Secretary of Commerce in January 2025.

This timeline casts a special light on the Tether share acquisition. Critics say it was a “friendship price” deal, with Tether offering a low valuation to benefit Lutnick, who was about to enter government.

Even more interesting, according to Fortune magazine, Lutnick’s son Brandon Lutnick works at Cantor and previously interned at Tether in Switzerland.

Regardless of the motivation, from an investment return perspective, this may be one of the most successful deals in Cantor Fitzgerald’s history. If Tether reaches a $500 billion valuation, $600 million would become $25 billion, a return of over 40 times. Even if the valuation only reaches $250 billion, the return rate would still be 20 times.

Cantor Fitzgerald, founded in 1945, is a long-established Wall Street financial institution. Their investment is significant for Tether: this is the first mainstream U.S. financial institution to become a Tether shareholder. In the context of increasing regulatory pressure, the endorsement value is immeasurable.

At the same time, over the past three years, Cantor Fitzgerald has been providing custody services for the U.S. Treasury bonds backing Tether’s stablecoin, which account for over 80% of the $132 billion in assets supporting the stablecoin.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the company earned tens of millions of dollars in commissions for providing this service.

The more practical value may lie in Cantor’s financial network. One of Tether’s biggest long-term challenges has been banking relationships. As a U.S.-regulated financial institution, Cantor’s involvement may open new banking channels for Tether.

From another perspective, Cantor’s investment represents a shift in Wall Street’s attitude toward crypto. No longer just watching or providing services, but directly becoming shareholders and sharing in the growth dividends.

Howard Lutnick has a dual identity: CEO at the time of investment, now Secretary of Commerce.

Whether this affected the deal price or not, one thing is certain: Tether now has an indirect connection at the highest levels of the U.S. government.

The Passive Billionaire in a Domestic Prison

Zhao Dong

Identity: Bitfinex Shareholder, RenrenBit Founder

Shareholding: Bitfinex <5%

Potential Wealth: Several billion dollars, indirectly benefiting through the iFinex structure

Zhao Dong may be the most dramatic figure in Tether’s wealth creation story.

In August 2016, Bitfinex was hacked, losing 120,000 bitcoins. In this crisis, this Chinese bitcoin whale became an unexpected protagonist.

To deal with the loss, Bitfinex proposed a compensation plan, issuing BFX tokens to affected users, each representing $1 in losses. Zhao Dong was one of the affected users, but instead of cutting his losses and leaving, he accepted Bitfinex’s debt-to-equity swap plan.

He bought more tokens from other users and eventually converted all of them into iFinex equity. This decision turned him from a victim into a Bitfinex shareholder.

In April 2017, Bitfinex completed the redemption of all BFX tokens, and users who chose the debt-to-equity swap became permanent shareholders of the exchange. As Bitfinex and its affiliate Tether developed rapidly, the value of these early shares increased dozens of times.

According to public reports, Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino once stated that Zhao Dong’s shareholding in Bitfinex is less than 5%.

Although the proportion is not high, considering that Bitfinex and Tether are both under iFinex, sharing management and shareholder structures, the value of this equity may far exceed the surface number.

Zhao Dong’s status in the domestic crypto circle is special and sensitive.

He is a co-founder of Moji Weather, successfully cashing out in 2012. He entered the bitcoin world in 2013, and at his peak reportedly held 10,000 bitcoins. He founded the OTC trading platform RenrenBit, which was once one of the largest OTC traders in China.

More importantly, he was the unofficial “spokesperson” for Tether in China.

In January 2018, Zhao Dong posted on Weibo that he met with Tether CFO Giancarlo in Tokyo and saw a bank account balance of over $3 billion. As a well-known figure in the crypto world, his statement attracted widespread attention.

In June 2020, everything came to an abrupt halt.

According to multiple media reports, Zhao Dong was taken away by the police on charges related to money laundering and illegal business operations. In 2021, there were reports that he was sentenced to several years in prison. The specific case details were never made public, but the industry generally believes it was related to OTC business.

Ironically, the years Zhao Dong spent in prison happened to be the craziest period for the crypto market.

From 2020 to 2024, bitcoin rose from $10,000 to over $70,000, and USDT’s circulation grew from $10 billion to $170 billion. If his Bitfinex shares are still there, their value may have increased dozens of times.

If Zhao Dong’s Bitfinex shares have not been disposed of, through the iFinex structure, he may indirectly benefit from Tether’s valuation growth. Even with less than 5% indirect equity, at a $500 billion valuation, that would mean several billion dollars in wealth.

But all this is hypothetical. His “passive holding” seems more like fate made the choice for him.

Finally, if Tether’s financing is completed, this will be the largest wealth creation in crypto industry history.

Fewer than 10 people control the vast majority of Tether’s $170 billion stablecoin empire. Among them, Giancarlo Devasini alone holds 47%; and most of the other big names are not even in the crypto industry spotlight.

This may be the wealth code of the crypto era:

It’s not about decentralization, but about standing quietly at the center of the right trend at the right time.