> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://blog.fizen.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Tether Just Passed a Full KPMG Audit, Gold Bars Counted One by One - URL: https://blog.fizen.io/tether-kpmg-audit-every-gold-bar-2026/ - Published: 2026-08-15T17:25:34.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-15T17:25:34.000Z - Description: Critics said Tether would never pass a real audit. KPMG just completed one, counted every gold bar, and signed a clean opinion. Here is what it means for the money you hold. - Author: Fizen Editorial - Tags: Crypto News, Invest **Key takeaways** - On 13 August 2026, Tether announced it completed its first full independent financial audit, conducted by KPMG U.S., one of the Big Four accounting firms. - KPMG issued an unqualified opinion, the most positive verdict an auditor can give, meaning a clean audit with no reservations, exceptions or caveats. - KPMG physically counted and inspected every individual gold bar Tether holds, verifying each one instead of trusting custodian reports. - The audited statements show reserves exceeding liabilities by $6.814 billion, confirming USDT is over-collateralized. - Fizen is backed by an investment from Tether, and the balance you hold in Fizen is USDT, so this is the backing behind the money in your wallet. For years, critics said one thing about Tether: it would never submit to a real audit. On 13 August 2026 that argument ended. Tether announced that **KPMG U.S., a Big Four firm, completed a full independent audit** of its financial statements and issued an unqualified opinion, the cleanest verdict an auditor can give. And KPMG did not just tick boxes on a spreadsheet: it walked in and counted the gold, bar by bar. ## KPMG counted every single gold bar This is the detail that sets the audit apart. Per Tether's announcement, KPMG **physically counted and inspected every individual gold bar** Tether holds, verifying the existence and identifying information of each one, rather than relying solely on reports from custodians or counterparties. No shortcuts, no taking a vault manager's word for it. Someone from KPMG stood in front of the metal and checked it against the records. The rigor went across the whole balance sheet: the assets that make up the reserves, the liabilities represented by every USDT in circulation, plus the income statement, changes in equity and cash flows. Each area got independent substantive testing, under AICPA standards and U.S. GAAP. [Tether Completes the Largest Inaugural Financial Audit in History - Tether.ioKPMG U.S. issues unqualified audit opinion on Tether’s 2025 financial statements – the most positive form of opinion an independent auditor can issue 13 August 2026 – Tether, the largest company in the digital asset industry, today announced the successful completion of a full independent audit of Tether International, S.A. de C.V.’s financial statements for \[…\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/ee/04eee3a6-7d95-474c-80a5-48f84338363b/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-74c26caf-a0a1-4b62-ad6b-7f9993349c7d.png)Tether.io![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/ee/04eee3a6-7d95-474c-80a5-48f84338363b/content/images/thumbnail/image-290-db8d9a5f-5257-4f8d-90fe-dd52dd19c7c8.png)](https://tether.io/news/tether-completes-the-largest-inaugural-financial-audit-in-history/?ref=blog.fizen.io) ## What an unqualified opinion actually means An unqualified opinion is the top grade. It means the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, Tether's financial position as of 31 December 2025, with no reservations, exceptions or caveats. “The result is an unqualified opinion; in other words, it means Tether has a clean audit,” said CEO Paolo Ardoino. The numbers back the verdict. CFO Simon McWilliams said the audited statements report **reserves exceeding liabilities by $6.814 billion**, confirming what the quarterly attestations had been showing all along. As Ardoino put it, the proof of stability is no longer just a Tether promise, it is a signed opinion. ## Why this matters for the money in your Fizen wallet Here is the part that is easy to miss. When you hold a balance in Fizen, you are holding **USDT in a self-custody wallet you control**. That USDT is the exact stablecoin KPMG just audited. So the strongest proof of backing in stablecoin history is not abstract news for institutions, it is the receipt behind the dollars in your app. And there is a reason we take this personally. [Fizen](https://fizen.io/?ref=blog.fizen.io) is backed by an investment from Tether. We chose to build on the most scrutinized, most transparent stablecoin in the market precisely so the people who use Fizen, from travelers to freelancers to families sending money home, never have to wonder whether the dollars are really there. Today more than 650 million people around the world trust USD₮ with their savings and their commerce. A clean Big Four audit is the kind of proof that trust deserves. ## The honest context Credit where it is due, and caveats where they belong. This audit covers the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025 and complements, rather than replaces, the ongoing quarterly attestations. It is a milestone, not a magic wand: reserves and markets still move, and Tether says it will keep raising the bar over time. But for an industry that spent a decade demanding this exact thing, a Big Four audit with every gold bar counted is a genuinely big deal. ## Frequently asked questions #### Did Tether complete a real audit? Yes. On 13 August 2026 Tether announced KPMG U.S. completed a full financial statement audit of Tether International for the year ended 31 December 2025, in accordance with AICPA standards and U.S. GAAP. This is a full audit, a step beyond the quarterly attestations Tether has published for years. #### What is an unqualified audit opinion? It is the most positive opinion an independent auditor can issue: the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the company's financial position, with no reservations, exceptions or caveats. In Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino's words, it means Tether has a clean audit. #### Did KPMG really check the gold? Yes. According to Tether, KPMG physically counted and inspected every individual gold bar held by Tether, verifying the existence and identifying information of each bar rather than relying solely on reports from custodians or counterparties. #### How much are USDT reserves over its liabilities? Tether's audited statements for the year ended 31 December 2025 report reserves exceeding liabilities by $6.814 billion, according to CFO Simon McWilliams. More than 650 million people use USD₮ across emerging markets. #### What does this mean for money I hold in Fizen? Fizen keeps your balance in USDT in a self-custody wallet you control. That USDT is now backed by financial statements audited by a Big Four firm with a clean opinion. Fizen is itself backed by an investment from Tether, so the credibility behind the stablecoin flows straight through to the money in your app. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/ee/04eee3a6-7d95-474c-80a5-48f84338363b/content/images/2026/08/_b_tether_audit-1.png) #### Hold audited dollars, spend them anywhere Fizen keeps your USDT in a self-custody wallet you control, spendable by Visa card and QR across 150+ countries. Backed by an investment from Tether. New users get $10 credit with code c12M. [Get the app](https://link.fizen.io/s/B3Aenpj7fz?ref=blog.fizen.io) This is news coverage, not financial advice. Figures and quotes are from [Tether's official announcement](https://tether.io/news/tether-completes-the-largest-inaugural-financial-audit-in-history/?ref=blog.fizen.io) (13 August 2026). Fizen is a self-custody super app, backed by an investment from [Tether](https://tether.io/news/tether-announces-strategic-investment-in-fizen-to-strengthen-global-stablecoin-utilization-and-self-custody-solutions/?ref=blog.fizen.io). ### Related reading - [Tether quietly made $1.5 billion last quarter](https://blog.fizen.io/tether-1-5-billion-q2-profit-2026/) - [Stablecoins 101: a beginner's guide](https://blog.fizen.io/stablecoins-101-beginners-guide/) - [Buy an eSIM with USDT or crypto](https://blog.fizen.io/buy-esim-with-crypto-usdt-2026/)