TLDR
- Tether said it engaged a Big Four firm for its first full independent financial audit.
- The company did not name the auditor, but said the review covers its full financial statements.
- The move comes as new U.S. stablecoin rules require stronger reserve reporting and annual audits.
- Tether has relied on reserve attestations before, while full audits remained a long-standing market issue.
Tether has taken a new step to answer long-running questions about its reserves. The company said it engaged a Big Four accounting firm for its first full independent financial audit. The move comes as stablecoin rules tighten and as USDT remains the largest dollar-pegged token in the market.
Tether moves toward a full audit
Tether said on March 24 that it is working with a Big Four firm on a full audit. The company did not name the auditor. It said the process will examine its financial statements and support wider transparency efforts.
The company added that the audit could rank among the largest first-time audits in finance. Tether linked that scale to the size and structure of its reserves. Those reserves include crypto assets, traditional financial instruments, and tokenized liabilities.
Paolo Ardoino said the company wants to build trust through action. He said institutions must open themselves to scrutiny if they want public confidence. Tether also said the work follows years of internal preparation for a full review.
New rules raise pressure on stablecoin issuers
The audit plan comes as the GENIUS Act reshapes the stablecoin market in the United States. The law was signed on July 18, 2025. It created a federal framework for payment stablecoins and added stronger reserve and disclosure standards.
Reports on the law say large issuers now face regular reserve reporting and annual independent audits. That changed the context for Tether, which had long discussed a full audit but had not completed one. A completed Big Four review would help the company address those requirements more directly.
USDT remains the largest stablecoin in the market. Recent reports placed its market value above $184 billion, while some reports said Tether claims about $192 billion in reserve assets worldwide. That scale keeps the company under close watch from regulators and market participants.
Reserve questions remain part of Tether’s story
Tether has published attestations for years instead of full audits. Those reports offered snapshots of reserves at specific times. A full audit goes further because it reviews assets, liabilities, controls, and reporting systems in greater detail.
The company’s reserve practices have faced scrutiny before. In 2021, the CFTC fined Tether $41 million over reserve misstatements. More recently, Tether used Deloitte for a reserve report tied to its smaller U.S.-focused stablecoin, USAT, though that was not a full company audit.
Tether’s latest step does not end all questions yet because the firm has not named the auditor or given a completion date. Still, the decision marks a new phase for the company as it tries to match stronger reporting standards with the scale of USDT’s global use.
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