The audit is a step up from the quarterly attestations Tether has published for years after settling an investigation with the New York Attorney Generals office. An attestation checks specific information, such as the amount and composition of reserves at a given date. A financial audit takes a broader look at a company's books, testing transactions, assets, liabilities, income, cash flows and the evidence supporting them.
Tether said in March that it had hired a “Big Four” accounting firm to conduct its first full audit. KPMG is one of the Big Four, the group of accounting giants that also includes Deloitte, EY and PwC and audits many of the world's largest companies.
KPMG examined Tether's transactions, systems, valuations, counterparties and ownership records, according to the company. Auditors also physically counted and inspected its gold bars.
Tether has repeatedly promised a full audit while relying on reserve attestations, leaving critics asking why a company of its size hadn't undergone the same level of scrutiny common among large financial firms.
Concerns about the stability and backing of its USDT token, a key piece of infrastructure for crypto trading and markets, have surfaced from time to time as a potential systemic risk for digital assets. The recurring debate became so familiar in crypto circles that it earned its own shorthand as “Tether FUD.”