Tether, the crypto firm behind the most popular stablecoin USDT, said on Tuesday that it has selected a “Big Four” accounting firm to conduct its first full accounting audit.
“The Big Four firm was selected through a competitive process because the organization already operates under the Big Four audit standard,” said Simon McWilliams, Chief Financial Officer of Tether. “The audit will be delivered.”
The company has long published periodic certificates of the assets that support the value of its $184 billion US dollar stablecoin USDT. A full audit goes further: it requires a detailed review of assets, liabilities, controls and reporting systems.
Tether did not name the company that will conduct the audit. The Big Four term is used for the best accounting firms Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC.
The move follows years of criticism over whether Tether has fully demonstrated that USDT is fully backed by reserves. The company says its holdings consist mainly of US Treasuries, along with smaller allocations to gold, bitcoin and a variety of loans. This mix has drawn scrutiny from critics who question the liquidity and risk profile of some assets, particularly during periods of market stress.
