Tether Taps a Big Four Firm for Its First Full Audit of USDT
Tether has long faced a familiar critique: USDT has never undergone a full, independent audit. Despite the reputational overhang, the stablecoin issuer has continued to grow, with USDT reaching $184 billion in market capitalization and more than 550 million users, cementing its role as a core liquidity layer in global crypto markets.
On Mar. 24, Tether said it has formally engaged a Big Four accounting firm to conduct its first full independent audit of its financial statements. The move follows comments made nearly two years ago by CEO Paolo Ardoino, who said Tether was actively trying to hire a Big Four auditor but found it "extremely challenging" amid what he described as a hostile U.S. political and regulatory environment.
Ardoino previously argued that the absence of a Big Four audit was not for lack of effort. He cited regulatory pressure, including calls from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren for auditors to avoid crypto companies, as a factor that discouraged firms from taking Tether on as a client. He also acknowledged the heightened scrutiny and risk management burden associated with auditing a stablecoin issuer of Tether's profile, saying the company's priority remained securing a full audit.
Legacy enforcement actions have continued to shape the debate. In 2021, the CFTC ordered Tether to pay $41 million over statements that USDT was fully backed by U.S. dollars. The New York attorney general also said Tether and Bitfinex made false statements about reserves while concealing roughly $850 million in losses. Those episodes left a persistent trust discount that quarterly attestations failed to fully erase, even as supply expanded.
Tether's preparation for a full audit has been visible for at least a year. In March 2025, the company hired Simon McWilliams as CFO with an explicit mandate to drive a full audit, positioning the effort as part of a broader push toward deeper institutional adoption. The Mar. 24 update marks the first concrete indication that this initiative has progressed to a formal engagement. Tether framed the step as moving "beyond" the attestation standard commonly used across stablecoin issuers.
The timing also aligns with a broader industry shift: major financial institutions are building market infrastructure designed for longer hours and continuous settlement, where tokenized dollars and stablecoins could play a more direct role in funding and settlement.
DTCC has said its NSCC plans to begin 24×5 trade processing on June 28, pending regulatory approval, describing it as a staged move toward more continuous markets. NYSE is working on a tokenized venue designed around 24/7 operations, instant settlement, and stablecoin-based funding. Nasdaq has promoted tokenization as an "always-on" financial ecosystem. BMO, CME Group, and Google Cloud have announced a tokenized cash platform intended to support real-time movement of value for margin, collateral, and settlement.
As stablecoins move closer to core market plumbing, counterparties are expected to demand stronger transparency around reserves and auditability. A token used for settlement-grade activity faces a higher standard than one used primarily for moving funds between exchange accounts.
Circle's USDC is often cited as an example of how institutional clarity can translate into scale. Circle reported $75.3 billion in USDC circulation at year-end 2025 and $11.9 trillion in on-chain transaction volume in Q4 2025. Current USDC supply is about $78.6 billion, implying roughly $3.34 billion in year-to-date growth in 2026.
Tether's strategy appears aimed at accessing similar institutional demand. The January launch of USA₮ supports that interpretation: Anchorage Digital Bank issues USA₮ for the U.S. market, with Cantor Fitzgerald as reserve custodian and preferred primary dealer, while USD₮ continues to be issued globally. The structure suggests an early effort to adapt to a landscape where standards differ by jurisdiction.
USDT remains far larger by market value at $184 billion versus USDC's roughly $78.6 billion. Still, the competitive pressure may increasingly hinge on how easily institutions can diligence and integrate a dollar token.
Two paths now look plausible. In a bullish outcome, Tether delivers a clean, named Big Four audit, narrowing its trust gap just as tokenized securities, 24×5 clearing, and tokenized cash rails move from pilots to production. In that scenario, the audit becomes a qualification step that keeps USDT positioned for the next generation of financial infrastructure.
In a bearish outcome, the process drags on, the firm remains unnamed, and no timetable is provided. Institutional flows could then continue migrating toward issuers that are already easier to diligence, or toward bank-linked tokenized cash systems that carry an implicit reserve backstop.
Tether's announcement appears directed less at crypto traders than at the next wave of market operators—clearing firms, broker-dealers, tokenized securities platforms, and exchange venues—that are deciding which dollar tokens they can integrate. As stablecoins are evaluated as candidates for the "cash leg" of continuous clearing, real-time margining, and always-on settlement, the long-running audit question has become a gating factor. The Big Four engagement is Tether's first tangible step toward removing it.
