Tether Taps KPMG for Full USDT Audit as It Eyes U.S. Expansion and $20B Fundraise

TLDR:

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• TLDR:

• A Comprehensive Review Beyond Monthly Attestations

• Regulatory Shifts Drive Tether’s Push Toward Transparency

• Tether has selected KPMG to conduct a full audit of its $185 billion USDT stablecoin reserves.

• PwC has been engaged to prepare Tether’s internal systems ahead of the comprehensive financial review.

• The audit goes beyond BDO Italia’s monthly attestations, covering assets, liabilities, and internal controls.

• Tether launched USAT under the GENIUS Act as it moves toward full U.S. regulatory compliance.

Tether has selected KPMG to conduct a full audit of its approximately $185 billion USDT stablecoin reserves. The company also engaged PwC to prepare its internal systems ahead of the review.

This move comes as Tether plans a U.S. expansion and seeks to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion. Investor concerns over pricing and regulatory risk have surrounded the fundraising effort.

The audit will go beyond BDO Italia’s current monthly attestations of the stablecoin’s reserves.

A Comprehensive Review Beyond Monthly Attestations

The Financial Times identified KPMG as the auditor after Tether confirmed a Big Four engagement earlier this week. CFO Simon McWilliams stated that the company was “already operating at Big Four audit standard.” He further assured that “the audit will be delivered,” signaling the company’s readiness to meet the requirements.

A full financial statement audit covers assets, liabilities, internal controls, and reporting systems. This goes well beyond the scope of the monthly attestations published by BDO Italia. The depth of review marks a clear shift in how Tether approaches financial transparency.

Tether has faced persistent questions about its reserves since its launch in 2014. In 2021, CoinDesk filed a legal request with the New York Attorney General seeking documents on USDT’s reserve composition. Tether fought the release and lost twice in court.

Documents received after a two-year legal battle in 2023 showed Tether held most of its $40.6 billion in reserves at Bahamas-based Deltec Bank as of March 2021.

The reserves carried heavy exposure to commercial paper from Chinese and international banks. Those banks included Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China Hong Kong, and ICBC.

Regulatory Shifts Drive Tether’s Push Toward Transparency

The GENIUS Act, signed into law last July, established the first federal framework for stablecoins in the United States.

Under this framework, Tether has already launched USAT, a compliant dollar-pegged token. The new law has reshaped how stablecoin issuers approach regulatory compliance.

Tether’s transparency push aligns with a broader shift in U.S. crypto regulation. Digital assets have gradually moved toward mainstream adoption, with Wall Street institutions increasing their exposure. This environment has added pressure on major stablecoin issuers to meet higher disclosure standards.

The company is also working toward a fundraising round valued at $500 billion. However, investor hesitation has reportedly slowed progress on securing the $15 billion to $20 billion target. Concerns over pricing and regulatory risk remain central to those discussions.

USDT currently has roughly $185 billion in circulation and functions as the reserve currency of crypto markets. It is also a major buyer of U.S. Treasury bills, connecting digital assets to traditional financial systems. The outcome of the KPMG audit is expected to carry weight across both markets.

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