Does USDT have sufficient reserves? Tether has reportedly hired KPMG for a comprehensive audit.

The Financial Times of the UK reported on Thursday, citing informed sources, that Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, has commissioned KPMG, one of the Big Four accounting firms, to conduct a comprehensive financial audit of its USDT, which has a market value of $185 billion.
At the same time, Tether has also hired another Big Four accounting firm, PwC, to assist in organizing and optimizing the company’s internal systems and financial processes in preparation for the impending audit. This is seen as the most substantial and groundbreaking step towards “financial transparency” since Tether was established.

Tether’s Chief Financial Officer Simon McWilliams stated earlier this week that the company “has long operated in accordance with the auditing standards of the Big Four accounting firms,” and promised that “the final audit report will definitely be delivered to the public on time.”
This auditing action comes as Tether prepares to enter the U.S. market and initiate a new round of fundraising. The Financial Times previously reported that Tether sought to raise $15 billion to $20 billion in the market with a staggering valuation of $500 billion, but due to the high pricing and potential regulatory risks, many institutional investors were deterred.
Currently, Tether’s reserve assets are primarily verified by BDO Italia, the Italian branch of the fifth-largest accounting firm in the world, which issues a monthly “Attestation” report, significantly different from a full financial statement audit, which requires detailed examination of assets, liabilities, internal controls, and reporting systems.
Since its launch in 2014, doubts about whether USDT has sufficient dollar reserves have never ceased. In 2021, the foreign media outlet CoinDesk requested the disclosure of USDT’s reserve details from the New York Attorney General’s office via the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), and Tether even went to court over this matter, but ultimately lost twice.
After a lengthy two-year legal battle, these confidential documents were finally exposed in 2023. Data showed that as of March 2021, the majority of Tether’s reserve, which amounted to as high as $40.6 billion at the time, was held in the Bahamas’ Deltec Bank, and it held a significant amount of commercial paper issued by Chinese and international banks, including Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China (Hong Kong), and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
These revelations sparked discussions in the market about liquidity and credit risk. However, in recent years, Tether’s asset allocation has gradually shifted towards short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, reducing its holdings of commercial paper.