Tether, the U.S.-based stablecoin giant is set to undergo its first full audit this year. On Tuesday, the USDT issuer announced that it has roped-in one of the Big Four audit firms for the task. Tether claims to be catering to over 550 million users with a market cap of $184 billion. Through this audit, the company is looking to bust the long followed trail of fud suspicions for its community.
Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, and E&Y make for the Big Four cluster of financial firms that dominate the international market for asset management, tax assurance, and the audits of public companies including S&P 500 firms. Tether has not disclosed exactly which of these four has agreed to audit it.
In its official announcement Tether termed a Big Four audit a rigorous and internationally recognized form of corporate financial inspection.
“For the hundreds of millions of people and businesses who rely on USD₮ every day, this audit is not just a compliance exercise; it is about accountability,” said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.
Earlier in March, Ardoino had said that Tether is targeting a valuation of $500 billion and that discussions with potential investors have already been initiated. In order to build that level of trust ahead of this ambitious goal, Ardoino had said a complete company audit was in the works.
In 2025, the company with around 300 staff members, reported profits worth $10 billion. Tether is known to be holding over $122 billion in U.S. Treasuries along with over 140 investments in the sectors of AI, energy, and media. Additionally, Tether has admitted to have acquiring massive deposits of gold to support its XAUT stablecoin’s 1:1 ratio with one troy ounce of real gold.
As part of Tether’s full-scale audit, the partner Big Four firm auditor will conduct an analysis of the company’s fiat and gold reserves, check for valuation accuracy of its assets, and test the company’s internal controls to ensure that no unauthorized fund movements can result in an incident for losses for the company, its users, or its investors.
“The Big Four Firm was selected through a competitive process because the organisation is already operating at Big Four audit standard; the audit will be delivered,” said Simon McWilliams, Chief Financial Officer of Tether.
While Tether has taken its first step towards a full-scale company audit, Circle has been working with Big Four auditing for over three years. The issuer of the USDC stablecoin, Circle started working with Deloitte for its audits in January 2023 while preparing for its IPO that happened in mid-2025.