Tether is moving beyond periodic reserve attestations and into a fuller accounting review, a shift that signals a more deliberate effort to meet the standards expected by U.S. institutions and regulators. The company has retained KPMG to conduct a full financial audit of USDT reserves and brought in PwC to strengthen its internal systems, according to reporting from the Financial Times, LedgerInsights and other outlets.
The scale of the review is significant. The audit is expected to cover roughly $184 billion to $185 billion in USDT reserves and has already influenced corporate strategy, with Tether reportedly pausing a planned $15 billion to $20 billion capital raise until the process is completed.
A broader review than previous attestations
Unlike the reserve attestations Tether has relied on in the past, this engagement is being described as a full balance-sheet audit that will examine not only reserve composition but also liquidity, liabilities and internal controls. Reporting indicates the review will look at holdings that include U.S. Treasuries, cash equivalents, gold and bitcoin.
That distinction matters because the new process is designed to go well beyond a point-in-time snapshot of assets. Instead of confirming balances at a given moment, the audit is expected to provide a deeper assessment of how reserves are managed and how the company’s operational procedures support those liabilities.
PwC’s role fits into that same preparation effort. The firm is reportedly focused on upgrading internal systems and controls before the audit and before further regulatory scrutiny intensifies, suggesting that Tether sees governance and process quality as just as important as reserve visibility.
The review is tied directly to Tether’s U.S. ambitions
The timing of the audit is not incidental. Tether’s decision to pair a Big Four audit with internal control work comes as the company pushes more aggressively into the U.S. market, where federal stablecoin rules are beginning to create a more formal operating environment.
Industry reporting has framed the dual appointments as both practical and reputational. A clean opinion from a major auditor could make it easier for Tether to engage with institutional counterparties, underwriters and investors that have long demanded stronger reserve verification. That appears to be one reason the company chose to delay its planned fundraise while the audit is underway.
Tether still accounts for about 60% of the stablecoin sector, meaning any outcome from this process will reach far beyond the company itself. If the audit reinforces confidence, it could lower counterparty-risk concerns and improve comfort around using USDT in treasury and trading operations.
The opposite is also true. Any adverse findings would likely have immediate consequences for stablecoin flows, liquidity conditions and broader market sentiment, especially because USDT remains deeply embedded in both spot and derivatives markets.
Tether is trying to convert long-standing questions about transparency into a more credible institutional framework, and the success of that effort will depend on what the audit ultimately says and how the market interprets it.