Tether has completed its first comprehensive independent financial audit, delivering on a long-standing commitment after years of scrutiny over the reserves backing its USDT stablecoin. KPMG U.S. examined the financial statements of Tether International, S.A. de C.V. for the year ended December 31, 2025, and issued an unqualified opinion.

The audit confirmed that reserves exceeded liabilities by $6.814 billion at year-end. USDT, the largest stablecoin by market value, carries a capitalization above $180 billion and ranks among the top cryptocurrencies overall.

Scope of the Examination

Unlike the quarterly attestations Tether has published for years, the KPMG engagement covered the full set of financial statements. Auditors reviewed transactions, internal systems, ownership records, asset valuations, counterparties and supporting evidence. The work followed American Institute of Certified Public Accountants standards and U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

KPMG teams also conducted physical verification of Tether’s gold holdings, counting and inspecting each individual bar rather than relying solely on custodian reports. Company statements described the project as the largest inaugural financial audit completed by a single firm.

Tether first disclosed in March that it had retained a Big Four accounting firm for the full audit. KPMG is one of the four major global firms that routinely examine the books of the world’s largest corporations.

Executive Statements

Chief Executive Officer Paolo Ardoino framed the outcome as a response to prolonged skepticism.

Ardoino added that the process went beyond headline figures and constituted a full examination under professional standards, resulting in a clean audit. He noted the company’s evolution into a major private financial entity serving more than 650 million users, many in emerging markets, who use USDT for commerce, savings and payments.

Chief Financial Officer Simon McWilliams described the engagement as a landmark for both the firm and the wider sector.

McWilliams pointed to the $6.814 billion surplus as confirmation of the quality of prior public reports.

Industry Context

USDT functions as core infrastructure for crypto trading, remittances and dollar access in regions with limited traditional banking. Its growth has drawn repeated questions about reserve composition, systemic risk and the distinction between limited attestations and full audits. Tether has become a substantial holder of U.S. government debt as part of its reserve assets and maintains significant positions in other instruments including gold and bitcoin.

The unqualified opinion provides independent verification of the 2025 statements and establishes a higher reference point for financial scrutiny among stablecoin issuers. Tether presented the completion not as a final step but as the start of continued governance improvements matching its scale and operational complexity.

The company is headquartered in San Salvador. No further details on specific reserve breakdowns beyond the surplus figure and the physical gold verification were released in the initial announcement.