Tether, the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin, has hired KPMG as its independent auditor as it prepares for an expansion into the United States, according to reporting from the Financial Times. The company has also engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to help ready its internal systems for that audit, people familiar with the matter told the paper.
The move marks a shift for one of the most closely watched firms in digital finance and comes as US regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), scrutinize how large crypto-linked firms disclose financial information and manage risk.
What Tether Is Doing and Why It Matters
The Financial Times reported that Tether has appointed KPMG, one of the global “Big Four” accounting firms, to conduct an audit of the company. Until now, Tether has relied on attestations—limited, point-in-time checks—rather than full audits from a major firm.
In parallel, Tether has hired another Big Four firm, PwC, to help upgrade and align its internal systems so they can support KPMG’s audit work, the FT reported, citing people familiar with the matter. These people were not named, and the details of the engagement, such as scope and timeline, were not disclosed.
The development is significant because Tether’s US dollar–linked token, known as USDT, plays a central role in crypto markets. A full audit by a major firm could affect how regulators, trading platforms, and large institutional users view the company’s financial reporting and risk controls.
Who Is Involved
According to the Financial Times account, several key actors are connected to this development:
- Tether – The issuer of USDT, which is designed to maintain a one-to-one value with the US dollar by holding reserves.
- KPMG – A Big Four accounting firm hired to serve as Tether’s auditor. An auditor’s role is to independently examine a company’s financial statements and internal controls and issue an opinion on whether they are presented fairly under relevant standards.
- PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) – Another Big Four firm brought in, according to people familiar with the matter cited by the FT, to help Tether prepare its internal systems so they can support the audit process.
- US regulators, including the SEC – While the Financial Times report does not state that the SEC has taken a specific new action in response to this hiring, the regulator is a central player in overseeing how financial products are offered to US investors and how public disclosures are made. Any US expansion by Tether would likely draw attention from the SEC and other US agencies.
- Major technology and financial platforms, including Meta – Large platforms that have previously explored or used digital assets and payment technologies are part of the broader environment in which Tether operates. The article’s core evidence does not describe a direct new action by Meta related to Tether’s audit decision, but Meta’s past involvement with digital payments and tokens forms part of the competitive and regulatory backdrop.
What the Sources Say
The main details about Tether’s decision come from the Financial Times, which reported that:
- Tether has hired KPMG as its auditor ahead of a planned expansion into the US market.
- The company has also engaged PwC to help prepare its internal systems for the audit, as described by people familiar with the matter.
A separate report from BankInfoSecurity, which focuses on changes in the cybersecurity and technology vendor landscape, supports the broader context that large financial and technology firms are working more closely with established professional services companies—such as Big Four auditors—to meet regulatory expectations and manage operational and security risks. That context helps explain why Tether’s choice of KPMG and PwC is notable, but BankInfoSecurity does not drive the core event narrative.
Neither source provides detailed terms of Tether’s arrangements with KPMG and PwC, such as the expected completion date of the audit, the specific accounting standards to be used, or whether the audit opinion will be made public. Those points remain uncertain based on currently available reporting.
Why an Audit and US Expansion Are Linked
The Financial Times links Tether’s hiring of KPMG directly to its plans to expand in the United States. While the report does not spell out every step of that strategy, the connection is straightforward: operating more extensively in the US market typically requires higher levels of transparency and more formal assurance over financial statements and reserves.
An audit by a Big Four firm can serve several functions in that context:
- Regulatory readiness – US agencies, including the SEC, place strong emphasis on audited financials when assessing disclosures and, where applicable, registration documents. Even if Tether is not currently registered as a public company in the US, a recognized audit can be an important signal to regulators.
- Institutional confidence – Large trading firms, financial institutions, and technology platforms often have internal policies that favor or require audited financial statements from key counterparties.
- Operational discipline – Preparing for a Big Four audit usually requires strengthening internal controls, documentation, and data systems, which may be part of PwC’s role as described by people familiar with Tether’s plans.
The BankInfoSecurity report, while not focused on Tether, underscores a related point: as technology and finance converge, firms that want to operate at scale in regulated environments increasingly rely on established professional services and cybersecurity vendors to meet compliance and risk-management expectations.
What Remains Unclear
Despite the clear headline development—that Tether has hired KPMG and brought in PwC to prepare for an audit—several important details are not yet publicly known based on the available reporting:
- Audit scope and standards – It is not yet reported whether KPMG will audit only Tether’s reserves, the broader corporate group, or additional activities, nor which accounting framework (for example, US GAAP or IFRS) will be used.
- Timing and publication – The Financial Times report does not state when the audit is expected to be completed or whether Tether plans to publish the full audit opinion and underlying financial statements.
- Regulatory posture – While the SEC is a central player in overseeing financial disclosures in the US, there is no specific new SEC action tied directly to this hiring reported in the sources. Any future interaction between Tether and US regulators remains to be seen.
- Meta and other platforms’ responses – The evidence does not describe any immediate reaction from Meta or other large platforms to Tether’s move. Their future decisions—such as whether to integrate, compete with, or distance themselves from Tether—are not addressed in the current reporting.
These gaps do not undermine the core fact that Tether has hired KPMG and engaged PwC, but they do limit how far one can go in describing the company’s full strategy or predicting regulatory outcomes.
What to Watch Next
Tether’s decision to bring in KPMG as auditor and PwC to prepare its systems marks a concrete step toward greater formal scrutiny of its finances as it eyes a larger role in the US market.
For readers following this story, the key developments to watch include:
- Whether and when Tether or KPMG releases audited financial statements or an audit opinion.
- Any public statements from US regulators, including the SEC, that reference Tether’s audit or US expansion plans.
- How major trading venues, financial institutions, and large technology platforms respond once more audited information, if any, becomes available.
Until more documentation or official statements are published, the confirmed development is narrow but important: Tether has moved from limited attestations toward a Big Four audit, signaling that it is preparing for closer scrutiny as it plans a push into the US market.
