Tether Claims 'Largest Inaugural Financial Audit' as KPMG Signs Off on 2025 Statements

An unqualified opinion means auditors found no major problems with the way the financial statements were presented. It does not, however, mean auditors are endorsing Tether’s business or guaranteeing it can meet its obligations.

Tether’s reserves and disclosures have faced sustained scrutiny.

In February 2021, Tether settled with the state of New York over a lawsuit, paying an $18.5 million fine, regarding a hole in its finances. In October of that same year, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission fined Tether $41 million over claims that USDT was fully backed by U.S. dollars.

Earlier this year, in March, the company said it had hired a Big Four accounting firm but declined to name it at the time. Days later, KPMG was identified as the firm auditing USDT, while PwC helped prepare Tether’s internal systems.

“As part of the process, KPMG physically counted and inspected every individual gold bar held by Tether, verifying the existence and identifying information of each bar rather than relying solely on reports from custodians or counterparties,” Tether wrote.

Tether framed the audit as evidence that its governance and financial controls have kept pace with its growth.

“Our company has evolved into one of the most financially significant and operationally sophisticated private companies in the world,” Ardoino wrote. “This audit demonstrates that our financial infrastructure and governance have evolved alongside that responsibility.”