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

Tether, the issuer behind the world's largest stablecoin USDT, has selected KPMG as its Big Four auditing partner, according to the Financial Times. The company has also brought in PwC to help prepare its internal systems ahead of the formal audit — representing the most significant transparency move in the company's history.

The news follows Tether's earlier announcement that it had entered a formal engagement with a Big Four firm, though it had declined to name the auditor at the time. CFO Simon McWilliams stated the company was already operating at Big Four audit standards and confirmed the audit would move forward.

With approximately $185 billion worth of USDT currently in circulation, Tether functions as the de facto reserve currency of global crypto markets and is one of the largest buyers of U.S. Treasury bills. A full financial audit would go significantly further than the monthly attestations currently published by BDO Italia, requiring deep scrutiny of assets, liabilities, internal controls, and financial reporting systems.

Transparency concerns have trailed Tether since its 2014 launch. A 2023 legal battle with the New York Attorney General's office eventually forced the release of documents revealing that as of March 2021, Tether held the majority of its $40.6 billion in reserves at Bahamas-based Deltec Bank, with heavy exposure to commercial paper from Chinese financial institutions.

The audit push comes as Tether eyes a U.S. market expansion and a potential fundraising round reportedly valued at $500 billion. Earlier reports noted investor hesitation over pricing and regulatory uncertainty.

Regulatory clarity is improving, however. The GENIUS Act — signed into law last July — established the first federal stablecoin framework in the United States, under which Tether has already launched a compliant token called USAT, signaling a clear pivot toward regulatory alignment as crypto enters the mainstream financial landscape.