Crypto firm Tether says KPMG completes long-promised audit

After years of promises, stablecoin issuer Tether said it has received a full independent audit of its financial statements for the first time. The El Salvador-based firm didn't release the audit. 

KPMG US issued an "unqualified audit opinion," meaning the statements "present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position," and that "the results of operations and cash flows for the period were [in] accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles," Tether said in a statement Thursday.

"We can confirm that we issued an unqualified opinion on Tether International, S.A. de C.V.'s financial statements in accordance with AICPA standards for the year ending December 31, 2025," KPMG said in an email. "Due to client confidentiality, we have no further comment."

The world's largest issuer of stablecoins — used as a means of exchange by cryptocurrency traders and in cross-border transactions — has said in the past that it wasn't able to get an audit because of reputational fear among the top-tier global accounting firms and a lack of standardized crypto rules. Instead, it issued quarterly reserve attestations, which served as a time-limited snapshot into its holdings rather than a full audit.  

 Tether had sought to raise as much as $20 billion at a $500 billion valuation in the past year, and some of its potential investors balked at investing in a company that hasn't been independently audited, Bloomberg reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter. The fundraising was put on hold, partly as a result of awaiting the audit, and partly as the result of the current crypto market downturn, they said, while asking not to be identified.

Tether representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tether began filing the quarterly attestations following a settlement with the New York Attorney General in February 2021 over allegations that the issuer and its sister exchange Bitfinex lied about reserves and commingled client funds. The same year, the pair also received a fine of $42.5 million from the U.S. Commodities and Futures Trading Commission while settling allegations of lying about reserves. Tether has denied any wrongdoing.