Tether says it completed long-promised ‘Big Four’ audit of finances behind $180 billion USDT stablecoin

Tether, the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin USDT USDT$0.9989, said Thursday that it had completed a full financial audit for the first time, claiming it delivered on a transparency measure it had promised for years as questions lingered over the assets backing its token.

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, Tether said. That means the accounting firm found the statements fairly presented Tether’s financial position, results and cash flows in all material respects under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

The statements showed Tether’s reserves exceeded liabilities by $6.814 billion at the end of 2025, Tether said. CoinDesk has asked Tether if it will share KPMG’s findings and received no response yet.

The audit is a step up from the quarterly attestations Tether has published for years after settling an investigation with the New York Attorney General’s office. An attestation checks specific information, such as the amount and composition of reserves at a given date. A financial audit takes a broader look at a company’s books, testing transactions, assets, liabilities, income, cash flows and the evidence supporting them.

Tether said in March that it had hired a “Big Four” accounting firm to conduct its first full audit. KPMG is one of the Big Four, the group of accounting giants that also includes Deloitte, EY and PwC and audits many of the world’s largest companies.

KPMG examined Tether’s transactions, systems, valuations, counterparties and ownership records, according to the company. Auditors also physically counted and inspected its gold bars.

Tether has repeatedly promised a full audit while relying on reserve attestations, leaving critics asking why a company of its size hadn’t undergone the same level of scrutiny common among large financial firms.

Concerns about the stability and backing of its USDT token, a key piece of infrastructure for crypto trading and markets, have surfaced from time to time as a potential systemic risk for digital assets. The recurring debate became so familiar in crypto circles that it earned its own shorthand as “Tether FUD.”

The stakes have only grown as USDT swelled to over $180 billion in market capitalization, while Tether has become a major buyer of U.S. government debt for reserve assets.

“For years, some detractors said an audit of Tether could not be completed,” CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement.