Finance13 August, 20262 min read
Tether Completes First Full Financial Audit With KPMG U.S. Unqualified Opinion
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KPMG US issued an unqualified opinion on Tether International's 2025 financial statements. KPMG counted Tether's gold bars during the audit.
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KPMG audit clears 2025
Tether said it completed its first full financial audit, with KPMG U.S. issuing an unqualified opinion on Tether International’s financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025.
“For years, some detractors said an audit of Tether could not be completed.”
CoinDesk reported that the audited statements showed Tether’s reserves exceeded liabilities by $6.814 billion at the end of 2025, and a KPMG U.S. spokesperson confirmed the unqualified opinion while citing “client confidentiality.”
Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement, “For years, some detractors said an audit of Tether could not be completed,” as the company framed the KPMG work as a transparency measure it had promised for years.
CoinDesk also described the audit as a step up from Tether’s quarterly attestations, saying a financial audit takes a broader look at a company’s books, testing transactions, assets, liabilities, income, cash flows and the evidence supporting them.
Gold counted, opinion unqualified
Multiple outlets tied the audit’s “clean” result to KPMG’s physical verification of Tether’s gold holdings, with Tether saying auditors “physically counted and inspected every gold bar.”
DiarioBitcoin said KPMG granted Tether its first clean opinion and highlighted that the audit included the physical count of every gold bar held by Tether, while also reporting that reserves exceeded liabilities by USD 6.8 billion at the end of 2025.
Tether’s own announcement described KPMG’s unqualified opinion as meaning the financial statements “present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2025,” under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
TradingView likewise said the audit covered Tether’s balance sheet, income statement and cash flows for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, and that KPMG physically inspected and counted Tether’s gold holdings rather than relying solely on custodian records.
Transparency stakes and limits
Even as the audit was completed, the sources emphasized that it did not automatically settle questions about ongoing reserve levels, with CryptoRank reporting that Tether’s Q2 attestation put excess reserves at $4.11 billion as of June 30, 2026.
“Tether has released neither the statements nor the opinion letter.”
CryptoRank said that figure was “about 40% lower” than the audited $6.814 billion cushion as of Dec. 31, 2025, and it added that Tether has not published the audited statements, notes or reserve composition.
CoinDesk reported that CoinDesk has asked Tether whether it will share KPMG’s findings and had yet to receive a response, while also noting that KPMG confirmed the unqualified opinion but declined further comment due to “client confidentiality.”
The Defiant said KPMG’s work covered one legal entity for one fiscal year under U.S. GAAP and that Tether “has released neither the statements nor the opinion letter,” framing the scope as narrower than the announcement implied.