Tether, the cryptocurrency company behind the most popular stablecoin $USDT, said Tuesday that it has selected one of the "Big Four" audit firms to conduct its first full financial audit.

Simon MacWilliams, Tether's chief financial officer, said: "The Big Four firm was selected through a competitive process because the organization already operates according to Big Four audit standards." "The audit will be delivered."

The company has long published periodic attestations regarding the assets backing its dollar-pegged stablecoin valued at $184 billion in $USDT. A full audit goes further than that: it requires detailed review of assets, liabilities, control systems, and reporting.

Tether did not name the firm that will conduct the audit. The term "Big Four" refers to the largest accounting firms: Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC.

This move came after years of criticism over whether Tether has fully proven that $USDT is fully backed by reserves. The company says its holdings consist largely of U.S. Treasury bills, along with smaller allocations to gold, bitcoin, and a range of loans. This mix has drawn intensive scrutiny from critics who question the liquidity of some assets and its risk profile, particularly during periods of market stress.