Tether says KPMG completed its first full audit

Stablecoin giant Tether announced Thursday that KPMG U.S. has completed a full independent audit of its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025 — the first such audit in the company's history. The milestone, long demanded by critics and regulators, marks a turning point for the issuer of the world's most widely used stablecoin, USDT Tether.

KPMG issued an unqualified opinion, the most favorable outcome an auditor can deliver, meaning the firm found no material misstatements in Tether's books. The audited statements showed reserves exceeding liabilities by $6.814 billion, according to Tether's announcement.bloomberg+1

A Decade of Scrutiny

For years, Tether faced persistent criticism for relying on quarterly attestations — point-in-time snapshots prepared by BDO Italia — rather than subjecting itself to the rigor of a Big Four audit. The company settled with the New York Attorney General in 2021 over claims it had misrepresented its reserves and paid an $18.5 million fine.eco

"For years, some detractors said an audit of Tether could not be completed," CEO Paolo Ardoino said in the company's statement. "We have once again proven them wrong". Ardoino described the KPMG review as going far beyond headline figures, noting that the firm "conducted a full and thorough audit in accordance with AICPA standards — examining the assets, transactions, systems, documentation, and other evidence supporting our financial statements".tether

Gold Bars Counted, Systems Tested

Unlike the previous attestations, the audit encompassed Tether's full balance sheet, income statement, equity changes, and cash flows. KPMG physically counted and inspected every individual gold bar held by the company rather than relying on custodian reports, according to Tether. Bloomberg reported that while Tether announced the audit's completion, it did not release the audited financial statements publicly.bloomberg+1

Tether engaged KPMG in March after the Financial Times first reported the hiring. The company also brought in PwC to prepare its internal systems ahead of the review. The audit comes as Tether positions itself for expansion in the United States under the GENIUS Act, which requires stablecoin issuers with more than $50 billion in outstanding tokens to obtain annual audits conducted to PCAOB standards.ft+2

What Comes Next

Chief Financial Officer Simon McWilliams called the result "a landmark moment," adding that Tether now holds itself "to the standards seen at the world's leading companies". With more than 650 million users relying on USDT across emerging markets, according to the company, the audit's implications extend beyond Tether's own credibility to the broader stablecoin industry's efforts to gain institutional trust.tether

Whether the audit silences Tether's remaining critics may depend on the company's willingness to make the full audited statements public — a step it has not yet taken.bloomberg