Key Highlights

  • Tether has hired KPMG for its first full independent financial statement audit, after announcing on March 24 that it had engaged a Big Four firm.

  • The company has also brought in PwC to prepare its internal systems for the audit process.

  • The move comes as Tether expands its U.S. plans, including a new domestic stablecoin venture called USAT. 

Tether has hired KPMG to conduct its first full independent financial statement audit, a step the company has long faced pressure to take as the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin. Tether said on March 24 that it had engaged a Big Four firm for the audit, and the Financial Times later reported that the firm is KPMG.

The audit is a bigger step than the reserve attestations Tether has published so far. Reuters reported last year that Tether’s reserves were being disclosed through quarterly reports compiled by BDO Italia rather than through a full audit. Tether now says the new engagement will cover its financial statements and follows a broader effort to strengthen internal controls and reporting. 

PwC has also been brought in to help prepare Tether’s internal systems ahead of the review, according to the Financial Times. That matters because a full audit at Tether’s scale is not just about checking reserve balances. It also means testing reporting processes, controls, and how the business presents its liabilities and assets. Tether said USDT had a market capitalization of more than $184 billion when it announced the audit engagement. 

The timing is tied to Tether’s broader U.S. plans. The company was preparing a U.S.-focused stablecoin venture called USAT, led by former White House official Bo Hines and set to be issued by Anchorage Digital Bank. According to Tether, USDT would seek to comply with, or qualify under, the framework created by the GENIUS Act for stablecoins in the U.S. The audit does not settle every question around Tether, but it is the clearest sign yet that the company is trying to meet the standards expected in traditional finance as it pushes deeper into the U.S. market.