Tether, the cryptocurrency company behind the most popular stablecoin USDT, said on Tuesday it had selected a “Big Four” audit firm to conduct its first full financial statement audit.
“The Big Four accounting firms were selected through a competitive process as the organization already operates to the Big Four auditing standards,” said Tether Chief Financial Officer Simon McWilliams. “The audit will be conducted.”
The company has long regularly issued proofs of assets supporting the value of its $184 billion stablecoin USDT. A comprehensive audit goes one step further: it requires a detailed review of assets, liabilities, controls and reporting systems.
Tether did not name the company that will complete the audit. The term Big Four is used to refer to the top accounting firms Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC.
Tether has been criticized for years over whether it has sufficiently demonstrated that USDT is fully backed by reserves. The company said its holdings consist primarily of U.S. Treasuries, with smaller amounts of gold, bitcoin and a range of loans. This combination has drawn close attention from critics, who question the liquidity and risk profile of certain assets, especially during times of market stress.
