Tether said Thursday it has completed a full financial audit for the first time, delivering on a transparency pledge the company has made for years while questions swirled around the assets backing USDT.
What KPMG found
KPMG U.S., one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, audited Tether International’s financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025 and issued an unqualified opinion.
That means the statements fairly presented Tether’s financial position, results and cash flows in all material respects under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
According to Tether, reserves exceeded liabilities by $6.814 billion at the end of 2025.
A KPMG spokesperson confirmed the unqualified opinion but declined to comment further, citing client confidentiality.
Beyond attestations
The audit goes further than the quarterly attestations Tether has published since settling an investigation with the New York Attorney General’s office.
An attestation checks specific figures, such as the amount and composition of reserves on a given date, while an audit tests transactions, assets, liabilities, income and the evidence behind them.
KPMG examined Tether’s transactions, systems, valuations, counterparties and ownership records, and auditors physically counted and inspected the company’s gold bars.
Years of scrutiny
Tether said in March it had hired a Big Four firm for the job, though critics had long asked why a company of its size had avoided the scrutiny common among large financial institutions.
Doubts about USDT’s backing have surfaced repeatedly as a potential systemic risk, becoming so routine in crypto circles that the debate earned its own shorthand: “Tether FUD.”
The stakes have grown as USDT passed $180 billion in market capitalization and Tether emerged as a major buyer of U.S. government debt, alongside its bitcoin holdings accumulated since 2023.
CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement:
“For years, some detractors said an audit of Tether could not be completed.”
