Tether Taps KPMG for First Big Four USDT Audit Amid U.S. Expansion Push

In brief

• Tether has selected Big Four accounting firm KPMG to conduct a comprehensive audit of its $184 billion USDT stablecoin.
• The company has also engaged PwC to prepare its internal systems for the audit process.
• The move comes as Tether plans to register USDT under the GENIUS Act.

Tether has engaged KPMG to conduct a comprehensive audit of USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin with approximately $184 billion in circulation. The Financial Times reported that the stablecoin issuer had hired KPMG, following Tether’s announcement earlier in the week that it had engaged a Big Four accounting firm for the first time to conduct a full financial statement audit. Per the FT, Tether has also brought in PwC to prepare its internal systems for the audit process. The dual engagement comes as Tether faces investor hesitation in its fundraising efforts while pursuing expansion into the U.S. market.

The comprehensive review will examine Tether’s complete financial reporting system, including internal controls and asset valuation, according to industry analysis. The audit represents a significant shift for Tether, which has faced scrutiny over its reserves transparency and was hit with a $41 million fine by the CFTC in 2021 over “misleading statements” relating to USDT. Tether claims to hold some $192 billion in reserve assets to back the value of its dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDT, the majority of which are purported to be held in U.S. Treasuries. 

Tether has long sought an audit of its reserves by one of the Big Four accounting firms—Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG—the world’s largest auditors, regarded as a kitemark of transparency and rigor. Last year, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino told Decrypt that the El Salvador-based firm intended to register USDT under the GENIUS Act’s regime for foreign stablecoin issuers, which imposes stringent anti-money laundering requirements and comprehensive audits of reserves. In January, Tether issued USAT, a fully-regulated and GENIUS-Act compliant dollar-pegged stablecoin—but with a circulating supply of just $28 million, the token is a minnow compared to USDT.