Summary
- KPMG has provided an unqualified opinion on Tether International's 2025 financial statements, marking a significant milestone.
- Tether has labeled this audit as the "largest inaugural financial audit in history."
- The audit comes after years of scrutiny regarding USDT's backing and Tether's ambitions in the U.S. market.
On Thursday, Tether revealed that the prominent accounting firm KPMG issued an unqualified audit opinion on the 2025 financial statements of Tether International, the entity behind the world's leading stablecoin, USDT.
In a statement about the audit, Tether proclaimed it as the "largest inaugural financial audit in history," noting that KPMG thoroughly reviewed Tether's assets, liabilities, income, cash flows, internal controls, records, counterparties, and supporting documentation.
Myriad: What's Bitcoin's next move? Share your prediction here.Tether's CEO, Paolo Ardoino, expressed on X, "Despite our company facing years of unfounded allegations, false claims from competitors, political assaults, and misleading media coverage aimed at undermining us for the benefit of their allies, Tether has delivered on its promises."
An unqualified opinion indicates that auditors did not find significant issues with the financial statements. However, it does not imply that auditors endorse Tether’s business practices or guarantee its ability to fulfill its obligations.
The company's reserves and disclosures have come under continuous scrutiny.
In February 2021, Tether reached a settlement with New York, paying an $18.5 million fine due to financial discrepancies. Later that year, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission fined Tether $41 million over claims regarding the full backing of USDT by U.S. dollars.
Earlier this year, in March, Tether announced it had engaged a Big Four accounting firm but initially withheld the name. Shortly after, KPMG was confirmed as the auditor for USDT, while PwC assisted in preparing Tether’s internal systems.
Tether stated that KPMG conducted a physical count and inspection of every gold bar held by the company, verifying their existence and identifying details rather than relying solely on custodians’ or counterparties’ reports.
The company presented the audit as a testament to how its governance and financial controls have adapted to its expansion. Ardoino stated, "Our company has developed into one of the most financially significant and operationally sophisticated private enterprises globally. This audit shows that our financial infrastructure and governance have evolved in line with that responsibility."