Tether said KPMG U.S. completed a full independent audit of Tether International's 2025 financial statements and issued an unqualified opinion, a milestone for the issuer of the USDT stablecoin.

The company said the audit covered the year ended December 31, 2025 and was conducted under applicable professional standards. In Tether's release, KPMG's opinion means the financial statements presented fairly, in all material respects, the company's financial position, results of operations, and cash flows under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

The distinction matters because Tether has historically relied on quarterly reserve attestations rather than a full financial statement audit. In March, the company said it had engaged a Big Four accounting firm for its first full audit. CoinDesk reported Thursday that the firm was KPMG and framed the completion as a long-promised step for the stablecoin issuer.

Tether also said KPMG examined transactions, systems, documentation, reserves, liabilities tied to issued tokens, and other evidence supporting the statements. The release says KPMG physically counted and inspected each gold bar held by Tether as part of the process.

The conservative read is that the audit is a stronger assurance event than Tether's routine attestations, but it is still backward-looking: it covers 2025 financial statements, not a live audit of today's reserve position. For USDT, a core settlement asset across crypto markets, the added scrutiny is still notable because stablecoin users and regulators have long focused on the quality, liquidity, and verification of issuer reserves.