The Financial Times reported Friday that Tether has hired KPMG to conduct its first full audit of $USDT’s financial statements and brought in PwC to help prepare its internal systems, citing people familiar with the matter.
The reported mandate follows Tether’s Tuesday announcement that it had formally engaged a Big Four firm for an inaugural financial statement audit, without naming the provider, and comes after years of pledges to deliver a full review of its books while relying instead on periodic reserve attestations from BDO Italia, the Italian member firm of the BDO global accounting network that has been producing USDt ($USDT) assurance reports since 2022.
The move comes as Tether ($USDT) weighs a major equity raise and a push into the US under the new federal stablecoin framework created by the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.
$USDT, a dollar-linked token with about $185 billion in circulation, is the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, according to CoinGecko. Tether said in January that it held more than $122 billion in direct US Treasury securities and about $141 billion in total Treasury exposure, including related instruments such as overnight reverse repurchase agreements.
Related: Tether CEO slams S&P ratings agency and influencers spreading USDt FUD
A comprehensive audit by KPMG is expected to go beyond snapshots of reserves, covering Tether’s assets, liabilities and internal controls across its sprawling balance sheet, a process the company has billed as “the biggest ever inaugural audit in the history of financial markets.”
Tether said the Big Four firm was chosen through a competitive process and that it already operates at Big Four “audit standards,” but has not yet committed publicly to when the audit will be completed.
Cointelegraph reached out to Tether and KPMG but had not received a response by publication. PwC refused to comment on the matter.
KPMG audit and Tether’s funding ambitions
Bloomberg reported in September 2025 that Tether was exploring raising as much as $20 billion in fresh equity, implying a valuation of $500 billion. Tether CEO Paulo Ardoino refuted these claims, telling Cointelegraph in February that such a figure had not been agreed upon, while maintaining its $500 billion valuation target based on the company’s profits.
The company has previously paid a $41 million Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fine over what the regulator called “untrue or misleading statements” about its reserves.
In a separate case, Tether agreed to an $18.5 million settlement with the New York Attorney General over allegations it concealed losses and misled investors about $USDT’s backing. Under the NYAG deal, Tether was compelled to provide detailed quarterly reserve reports for two years and later dropped its opposition to the release of those materials.
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