KPMG Issues Clean Opinion in Tether’s First Full Audit: Reserves $6.8 Billion in Excess
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino dismissed criticisms after KPMG U.S. issued a clean opinion on the company’s 2025 financials, announcing that reserves exceeded liabilities by $6.8 billion and that full audits will be conducted every year.
Tether’s first full financial audit covered the 2025 financial statements of the stablecoin issuer’s entity, Tether International S.A. de C.V. KPMG U.S. issued a clean opinion, also known as an “unqualified opinion,” on these statements. According to the results, as of December 31, 2025, reserves exceeded liabilities by $6.8 billion.
Paolo Ardoino said in an interview with The Block, “Frankly, I don’t care,” regarding the criticisms, arguing that some people cannot admit they were wrong. Stating that Tether can withstand massive redemptions, the CEO noted that $7 billion was repaid within 48 hours in 2022, which corresponded to approximately 10% of the reserves at that time. He emphasized that the company did not halt redemptions.
Why won’t Tether publish the audit report?
Following the audit, the debate intensified over the scope of the report and whether it would be made public. Ardoino stated that Tether International is the sole entity issuing USDT. Nevertheless, some critics argued that the study did not provide a consolidated view of the ultimate parent company or the entire group.
A source with direct knowledge stated that the audit statements and the KPMG report will not be shared, citing the fact that Tether is a private company. The company provides the documents when requested by regulators and banks. According to the source, a clean opinion represents the highest audit result, meaning the auditor issued no reservations or additional warnings.
Tether plans to conduct a full financial audit every year and publish quarterly reserve attestation reports going forward. Ardoino attributed the delay of the audit not to the complexity of the balance sheet, but to the hesitation that the previous U.S. administration’s harsh stance toward crypto companies created among major auditing firms.