Stablecoin giant Tether has announced that KPMG U.S. completed the first independent audit of its reserves after years of struggling to get a Big Four accounting firm to do so.
The San Salvador-based company, which issues the largest stablecoin in existence, USDT, said the audit was “the largest inaugural financial audit in history.”
As Bitcoin Magazine's Mathew DiSalvo reports, Tether for years was criticized for being coy about its reserves and not having an independent audit of what it holds behind its flagship token.
Tether said over the years that it was eager to work with a Big Four firm for an audit.
“For years, some detractors said an audit of Tether could not be completed,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement.
“They said the Company refused to subject itself to the most rigorous scrutiny. We have once again proven them wrong. Completing our financial statement audit sets a new standard for the industry and reflects the leadership we’ve brought to this market from the start.”
Tether did not mention its Bitcoin holdings in its statement, nor did it immediately respond to questions from Bitcoin Magazine.
But it said that KPMG “physically counted and inspected every individual gold bar held by Tether, verifying the existence and identifying information of each bar rather than relying solely on reports from custodians or counterparties.”
Tether added that all assets and statements were subject to “independent substantive testing and verification.”
"No rock was left unturned.
Tether has all the gold it says it has.
Now reviewed by KPMG.
How many financial institutions or governments can actually say that? "
The company has in recent years upped its gold buys, holds more U.S. treasuries than some countries and has nearly $60 billion in Bitcoin in its reserves, according to data from Arkham Intelligence.
“Tether has evolved from a disruptive stablecoin issuer into one of the most financially significant and operationally sophisticated private companies in the world,” continued Ardoino.
“This audit demonstrates that our financial infrastructure and governance have evolved alongside that responsibility.”
Tether’s USDT product has a market cap of over $183 billion, making it the third biggest cryptocurrency in existence.