Tether in talks with Big Four firm for its first full financial audit: Report

Stablecoin issuer Tether is reportedly successful talks with a Big Four accounting steadfast to audit its assets reserves and verify that its USDT (USDT) stablecoin is backed astatine a 1:1 ratio.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino reportedly said the audit process would beryllium much straightforward nether pro-crypto US President Donald Trump. It comes aft rising manufacture concerns over a imaginable FTX-style liquidity crisis for Tether owed to its deficiency of third-party audits.

Tether to nutrient archetypal afloat audit aft scrutiny

“If the President of the United States says this is apical precedence for the US, Big Four auditing firms volition person to listen, truthful we are precise blessed with that,” Ardoino told Reuters connected March 21.

“It’s our apical priority,” said Ardoino. It was reported that Tether is presently taxable to quarterly reports but not a afloat autarkic yearly audit, which is overmuch much extended and provides much assurance to investors and regulators.

However, Ardoino did not specify which of the Big Four firms — PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, oregon KPMG — helium plans to engage.

Tether recorded a nett of $13.7 cardinal successful 2024. Source: Paolo Ardoino

Tether’s USDT maintains its unchangeable worth by claiming to beryllium pegged to the US dollar astatine a 1:1 ratio. This means each USDT token is backed by reserves equivalent to its circulating supply. 

These reserves see accepted currency, currency equivalents and different assets.

Earlier this month, Tether hired Simon McWilliams arsenic main fiscal officer successful mentation for a afloat fiscal audit.

Industry concerns implicit Tether’s deficiency of audits

In September 2024, Cyber Capital laminitis Justin Bons was among those successful the manufacture who voiced concerns astir Tether’s deficiency of transparency.

“[Tether is] 1 of the biggest existential threats to crypto. As we person to spot they clasp $118B successful collateral without proof! Even aft the CFTC fined Tether for lying astir their reserves successful 2021,” Bons said.

Related: Tether freezes $27M USDT connected sanctioned Russian speech Garantex

Around the aforesaid time, Consumers’ Research, a user extortion group, published a study criticizing Tether for its deficiency of transparency surrounding its US dollar reserves.

Just 3 years prior, successful 2021, the United States Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined Tether a $41 cardinal civilian monetary punishment for lying astir USDT being afloat backed by reserves.

Meanwhile, much recently, Tether has voiced disappointment implicit caller European regulations that person forced exchanges similar Crypto.com to delist USDT and 9 different tokens to comply with MiCA.

“It is disappointing to spot the rushed actions brought connected by statements which bash small to clarify the ground for specified moves,” a spokesperson for Tether told Cointelegraph.

Cointelegraph reached retired to Tether but did not person a effect by clip of publication.

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