Highlights

Tether said it has finished its first complete financial audit, conducted by KPMG U.S., one of the "Big Four" accounting firms. The audited 2025 financial statements showed reserves exceeded liabilities by $6.814 billion. Unlike prior quarterly attestations, the audit evaluated transactions, systems, assets and records — including a physical inspection of gold holdings — to address long-standing questions about the assets backing the USDT stablecoin. The move represents a significant transparency step for the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin.

Sentiment Analysis

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  The overall sentiment is positive and cautiously reassuring. The audit by KPMG produced an unqualified opinion, signaling that the firm's 2025 financial statements fairly present its financial position under U.S. GAAP. This outcome reduces some uncertainty about USDT's backing and may calm critics who questioned Tether's disclosures. Visual indicator below reflects a predominantly positive sentiment with moderate intensity.
  
  
  

  
  70%
  

  
  
  
  

Article Text

Tether announced that it has completed its first comprehensive financial audit, a long-promised step intended to bolster transparency around the reserves that support its USDT stablecoin. KPMG U.S., one of the global "Big Four" accounting firms, audited the financial statements of Tether International for the year ending December 31, 2025, and issued an unqualified opinion. An unqualified opinion indicates that the auditor found the financial statements to present fairly, in all material respects, the company's financial position, results of operations and cash flows in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

According to Tether, the audited statements showed that its reserves exceeded liabilities by $6.814 billion at the end of 2025. This audit extends beyond the quarterly attestations the company has provided in previous years. While attestations typically verify specific figures or reserve compositions at particular dates, a full financial audit involves broader testing of transactions, assets, liabilities, income and cash flows, and requires auditors to gather and evaluate supporting evidence across the business.

KPMG reported testing Tether's transactions, systems, valuations, counterparty relationships and ownership records as part of the engagement. The firm also performed physical inspections, including a count and inspection of gold bars held by the company. These procedures were designed to respond to persistent concerns among market participants about whether USDT is fully and properly backed and whether the stablecoin poses systemic risk to digital asset markets.

Tether had previously relied on periodic attestations—produced after settling a probe by the New York Attorney General's office—but critics have long argued that attestations are less comprehensive than full audits. Questions persisted about why an issuer with a market capitalization for USDT that has grown to more than $180 billion had not undergone the same level of scrutiny commonly applied to large financial institutions. The audit is therefore a notable development in addressing those criticisms.

The firm's CEO, Paolo Ardoino, highlighted that detractors once claimed an audit of Tether could not be completed. By engaging a Big Four auditor and receiving an unqualified opinion, Tether says it has delivered on a long-standing transparency commitment. CoinDesk and other outlets have asked whether Tether will make KPMG's full findings public; as of the announcement, the company had not provided the detailed audit report itself.

The stakes for clarity about Tether's reserves have grown alongside the stablecoin's expansion. USDT is widely used across cryptocurrency markets for trading, settlement and liquidity, and Tether has increasingly included U.S. government debt among its reserve holdings. For market participants and regulators, independent auditing of reserve practices and overall financial health helps inform assessments of stability and systemic exposure tied to a major market infrastructure element.

While the audit's unqualified opinion is likely to be seen as a positive signal by some market participants, observers will continue to seek greater detail about reserve composition, counterparty risk and valuation practices. The physical inspection of assets such as gold bars and the broader transactional testing are emphasized by the audit as meaningful steps in addressing former concerns, yet calls for continued transparency and disclosure may persist as USDT remains central to crypto market functioning.

The completion of this audit marks a shift in Tether's public reporting approach and could influence expectations for verification and disclosure across the broader stablecoin sector. How the market, regulators and institutional actors interpret and act on the audit's results will shape the ongoing conversation about stablecoin risk management and oversight.

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