BlockBeats report: On August 14, Tether, the issuer of USDT, announced that it has completed a full independent audit of its fiscal year 2025 financial statements by KPMG US and received an unqualified audit opinion—the most favorable opinion an independent auditor can issue. This audit, described as the "largest first-time financial audit in history," involved comprehensive substantive testing by KPMG of Tether’s balance sheet, reserve asset composition, issued token liabilities, income statement, changes in equity, and cash flow statement. KPMG physically counted every gold bar held by Tether to verify their existence and identification details, rather than relying solely on custodian reports.
The audit confirmed that as of December 31, 2025, Tether’s reserves exceeded its liabilities by $6.814 billion. CEO Paolo Ardoino said, “Critics have claimed for years that Tether’s audit could not be completed—we have once again proven them wrong. An unqualified opinion means Tether has received a clean audit.” Tether CFO Simon McWilliams called this a “milestone in Tether’s commitment to transparency,” noting that the company completed a historic project in collaboration with the Big Four accounting firms and will continue raising standards in the future.
Tether has consistently released independent attestation reports on its reserves for years; this financial statement audit marks a transition of its financial reporting framework from an attestation level to a full audit level.