TL;DR
Historic shift for the world's largest stablecoin
Tether, the issuer of USDT with a market capitalization of over $184 billion, is taking a significant step towards increased financial transparency. According to the Financial Times, cited by CoinDesk, the company has formally engaged KPMG to conduct its first full, independent audit of its accounts – and has brought in PwC in addition. The timing coincides with the company's ambitions to enter the regulated American market.
For over a decade, Tether relied on quarterly attestation reports performed by BDO Italia. These provided a snapshot of reserves on a specific date, but according to critics, offered no assurance of what the reserves consisted of the day before or after. A full audit from a Big Four firm, however, involves a continuous review of assets, liabilities, internal controls, and reporting systems – a significantly higher standard.
“This is not just a compliance exercise; it's about accountability, robustness, and trust in the infrastructure.” — Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether
GENIUS Act sets the requirements
The background for Tether's strategic change is partly the new American regulatory reality. The GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act), passed in July 2025, requires, among other things, that stablecoin issuers with over $50 billion in volume conduct annual audits. The law also mandates 1:1 backing in reserves consisting exclusively of dollars or approved “safe assets” such as government bonds with maturities under 93 days, bank deposits, and money market funds.
To meet these requirements, Tether launched a US-regulated stablecoin called USA₮ in January 2026, issued through the federally approved crypto bank Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A. The Big Four audit can be read as the next step in the same strategy.
Competitive landscape shaken
The news reportedly had immediate consequences for competitors, according to research material. Circle, the issuer of USDC and historically known for its transparency profile with Deloitte audits, reportedly saw its stock price fall by 20 percent. Coinbase, a key distribution channel for USDC, reportedly fell 9 percent. It is worth noting that these figures originate from unverified research sources and have not been confirmed by exchange data at the time of publication.
Strong figures to back it up
Tether enters the audit process from a position of financial strength. For 2025, the company reported a net profit of over $10 billion, surplus reserves of $6.3 billion, and total reserve assets of nearly $193 billion. Over 80 percent of the reserves are placed in US Treasury bonds, with total exposure to government securities exceeding $141 billion at the end of 2025.
What the audit will reveal
CFO Simon McWilliams stated, according to CoinDesk, that the firm was chosen through a competitive process because Tether already operates at a Big Four audit level. The full audit will provide insight into digital assets, traditional reserves, and tokenized liabilities – which is expected to strengthen institutional investors' confidence in USDT.
The CFTC fined Tether $41 million in 2021 for misrepresenting its reserves in the period 2016–2019, which has historically cast a shadow over the company's reputation. An approved Big Four audit will potentially represent a turning point in that narrative.
How the audit is actually conducted and what it specifically reveals remains to be seen. The results have not been published at the time of publication.
