Tether Completes First Full Audit, Receives "Unqualified Opinion" from KPMG
Tether, the issuer of USDT, the world's largest stablecoin by market capitalization, announced on August 13, 2026, that its subsidiary, Tether International, S.A. de C.V., has successfully completed its first full independent audit of its financial statements as of December 31, 2025. The audit was conducted by KPMG U.S., a globally renowned accounting firm, and resulted in an "unqualified opinion." This is the strongest result an auditor can give, meaning the financial statements fairly present the company's financial position in all material respects.
This milestone marks a crucial step for Tether in enhancing transparency, aiming to put an end to the long-standing "black box" concerns surrounding its reserves. Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, stated that the unqualified opinion is "the best audit opinion an independent auditor can issue," emphasizing that it is one of the most significant milestones in the company's history, setting a new benchmark for financial scrutiny in the stablecoin market.
Differences Between Audit Scope and Attestation Reports
This full audit performed by KPMG differs significantly from Tether's previous quarterly attestation reports provided by BDO. Attestation reports typically only confirm whether reserve balances at a specific point in time are sufficient to cover issued stablecoins, whereas a full audit is more in-depth and comprehensive, continuously reviewing assets, liabilities, internal controls, and all aspects of financial statements.
KPMG's audit covered Tether's complete balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in equity, and cash flows. The audit process involved rigorous testing of transactions, ownership records, valuations, systems, and counterparties in accordance with AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) standards. Notably, KPMG even conducted a physical count and inspection of every gold bar held by Tether to ensure the authenticity of its gold reserves.
Reserve Status and Composition
According to KPMG's audit results, as of December 31, 2025, Tether's reserves exceeded liabilities by $6.814 billion, demonstrating a healthy excess reserve buffer. However, according to BDO's Q2 report published on July 31, 2026, this reserve buffer had shrunk to $4.11 billion as of June 30, 2026. Despite the decrease, Tether still maintains sufficient reserves to back its issued USDT.
As of Q4 2025, Tether's reserve composition primarily included:
- U.S. Treasury Bills: Approximately 80% of reserves, held directly, through repurchase agreements, and money market funds. As of Q1 2026, Tether's direct and indirect holdings of U.S. Treasury bills amounted to approximately $141 billion, making it one of the world's significant holders of U.S. Treasury bills.
- Gold: Approximately 5%, held physically and in the form of XAUT (Tether Gold) tokens.
- Bitcoin: Approximately 3%, as part of the excess reserve buffer.
- Secured Loans: Approximately 5%.
- Other Investments: Approximately 2%.
As of September 8, 2026, USDT's market capitalization is approximately $183.196 billion, with a circulating supply between 180 billion and 183.46 billion tokens.
Transparency and Regulatory Environment Challenges
While this audit is a significant step in Tether's transparency efforts, critics point out that the full audit report itself has not yet been publicly released, which may still not fully allay all concerns. Tether has long faced continuous scrutiny from regulators, journalists, and traditional finance regarding the transparency and verifiability of its reserves.
In terms of regulation, Tether has faced challenges. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined Tether $41 million in 2021 for making "untrue or misleading statements" about its reserves between 2016 and 2019. In the same year, the New York Attorney General's Office reached an $18.5 million settlement with Tether and Bitfinex and prohibited them from conducting business with New York residents.
Tether actively cooperates with law enforcement agencies to combat illicit activities, having frozen over $4.7 billion in USDT and assisted over 340 law enforcement agencies in 67 jurisdictions. In market expansion, Tether is seeking to expand in the U.S. and has launched a new stablecoin, USAT, compliant with the GENIUS Act, in partnership with Anchorage Digital. However, Tether has not sought e-money or asset-referenced token licenses under the EU MiCA regulation, leading major exchanges to delist USDT spot trading pairs for EU users between late 2024 and 2025.
USDT Trading Channels
As one of the most widely circulated stablecoins globally, USDT can be traded on numerous mainstream cryptocurrency trading platforms. Users can find USDT trading pairs on platforms such as BTCC, Binance, CoinUp.io, Pionex, Azbit, BloFin, KCEX, BitDelta, Hotcoin, Ourbit, Tapbit, Bybit, HTX, MEXC, and WEEX. Please note that the trading pairs and features supported by different platforms may vary, and users should choose a suitable platform based on their needs and verify trading information independently.
The platform information for sale in the article changes with the listing and delisting dynamics of each exchange. Please refer to the official announcements of the exchanges.
