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The issuer of the industry's largest stablecoin has finally gotten what skeptics had long demanded — a full financial audit from the Big Four. KPMG US has issued Tether a "clean" opinion on its 2025 financial statements. This is the first time in the company's history that the review was conducted according to all standards, rather than being limited to a selective confirmation of reserves.

According to the audit report, as of December 31, 2025, Tether's reserves exceeded its liabilities by $6.814 billion. However, there is an important nuance here: this figure reflects the state at the time of the review. In the company's latest quarterly report, published later, this excess buffer stood at $4.11 billion. The difference — roughly 40% — is significant and requires separate analysis.

What exactly KPMG confirmed

The audit covered Tether International, S.A. de C.V. for the reporting period ending December 31, 2025. A "clean" opinion is the highest rating, meaning the absence of material misstatements. The auditors did not merely reconcile the figures in the documents: they personally recounted and inspected all the gold bullion held in the company's accounts, analyzed transactions, ownership rights, asset valuation, and internal control systems.

Previously, Tether had for years published only quarterly confirmations from BDO, which drew criticism for insufficient transparency. The move to KPMG, announced in March, signaled a shift in approach. CEO Paolo Ardoino called the result a "thorough examination under AICPA standards" and emphasized that the audit was completed without a single finding.

Why the buffer shrank

The key point is the discrepancy between the audited figure and more recent data. As of June 30, 2026, according to BDO's report, excess reserves stood at $4.11 billion. That is roughly 40% less than the amount confirmed by KPMG. At the same time, Tether recorded a net operating profit of about $1.5 billion for the second quarter. This combination points either to unrealized losses or to funds being withdrawn from reserves into other business segments.

The most likely factor is gold. After a January peak, the spot price of the metal has fallen by more than 20%, and Tether holds part of its reserves precisely in gold and bitcoin, in addition to Treasury bills. The company's tokenized gold asset tracks the same reserves that KPMG manually counted.

What the "clean" opinion does not cover

It is important to understand the boundaries of this audit. The audited legal entity and the group for which attestation was performed do not coincide. In its Q4 2025 report, Tether reported a profit of $6.34 billion for the same balance sheet date — roughly $480 million less than in the audited data. The company has still not disclosed the financial statements themselves: without notes, accounting policies, and the structure of reserves, external analysts cannot verify the figures and can only rely on the final assessment.

The audit also does not address Tether's ability to redeem tokens under stress scenarios, liquidity during a panic, or counterparty risks. These issues become especially acute against the backdrop of the finalization of the GENIUS Act rules in the U.S. — the future regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers.

USDT's market capitalization stands at about $183 billion — third place among all crypto assets. Tether has finally cleared the bar that critics called unattainable. The real test is the next report and the publication of those very documents signed by KPMG. Until then, the "clean" opinion is an important but only first step toward full transparency.

My view: the very fact of an audit by KPMG is a tectonic shift for the stablecoin industry; it removes the long-standing question about the quality of reserves. However, the 40% reduction in the buffer shows that even giants are vulnerable to market volatility. Investors should watch not the loud headlines but the disclosure of full financial statements — that is where the real risks lie.