Tether finally got the audit critics demanded, just as Washington changed the test

Tether says KPMG issued an unqualified opinion on Tether International's 2025 financial statements, its first full audit from a Big Four accounting firm. The audited numbers show reserves exceeding liabilities by $6.814 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025.Quarterly reserve attestations confirm a snapshot of assets against liabilities. A full financial-statement audit examines the balance sheet, transactions, counterparties, and underlying evidence, and Tether says KPMG even physically counted every gold bar in its reserves.Transparency itemReserve attestationFull financial-statement auditGENIUS-style regimePoint-in-time reserve snapshotYesYesYesFull balance sheet reviewLimitedYesExpectedTransactions and counterpartiesLimitedYesExpectedLiability verificationYesYesYesOngoing liquidity-risk managementNoNot the main purposeYesMonthly public reportingNoNoYesWeekly confidential regulator reportingNoNoYesStanding supervisory frameworkNoNoYesTether CEO Paolo Ardoino said KPMG's unqualified opinion was “the best possible audit opinion an independent auditor can issue” and the firm's audit was “the largest inaugural audit in the history of finance.”He added:“[Tether] has evolved into one of the most...