The company has hired one of the four major accounting firms to verify the reserves backing $184 billion in USDT.
Tether announced on Tuesday that it has selected a Big Four accounting firm to conduct the first full financial audit of the reserves backing its USDT stablecoin. The announcement comes after years of criticism over the transparency of the reserves guaranteeing the token, the most widely used in the cryptocurrency market with a market capitalization of $184 billion.
Until now, Tether had only published periodic attestations of its reserves – a standard widely considered insufficient by critics and regulators alike. A full audit goes far beyond that: it requires a detailed review of assets, liabilities, internal controls and reporting systems. Tether’s CFO, Simon McWilliams, stated: “The Big Four Firm was selected through a competitive process because the organisation is already operating at Big Four audit standard. The audit will be delivered.”
Tether has not disclosed the name of the selected firm. The term Big Four refers to the four leading global audit firms: Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC. According to the company, the selection was made through a competitive process among multiple candidates.
Tether’s reserves are largely composed of U.S. Treasury bills, with smaller allocations in gold, bitcoin and a range of loans. This very mix has fueled criticism from those who question the liquidity profile and risk exposure of certain assets, particularly during periods of market stress. The audit aims to address these concerns with a verification standard that goes well beyond previous attestations.
