Tether Hires New Auditor BDO Italia For Monthly USDT Reserves Report

Leading stablecoin issuer Tether has hired accounting firm BDO Italia to replace Cayman Islands firm MHA Cayman in overseeing its attestation reports for USDT reserves. 

The USDT issuer said it plans to release its attestation reports every month, replacing the previous quarterly reporting arrangement. 

Tether Hires Major European Auditor

Founded in 1965, BDO Italia is an Italian financing advisory and accounting auditing firm, the world’s fifth largest public accounting organization in terms of revenue. 

According to Tether, the decision to work with the BDO is part of its commitment to be more transparent in its attestation report to customers.

“This new relationship aligns with Tether’s dedication to transparency and is the next step in the company’s path toward a complete audit,” Tether said.

Stablecoins are digital currencies whose values are pegged to the value of relatively stable assets such as fiat and gold. Unlike other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), they protect investors and traders against market volatility. 

Tether’s flagship asset, USDT, is the world’s largest stablecoin and fourth-largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $67 billion. The digital asset is pegged 1:1 to the USD, so Tether is expected to have 100% of USDT’s market cap in reserves. 

Tether USDT Reserves Controversy

Since its launch, there have been controversies around the USDT reserves. Tether claims the stablecoin is backed by banknotes and commercial papers, which match or exceed the value of USDT in circulation. However, speculators have widely disputed these claims

For transparency, Tether releases quarterly attestations on USDT reserves, which will now be published monthly. 

“We are committed to serving the fast-growing cryptocurrency market as the strongest stable asset in the Web 3 economy. Tether’s commitment to transparency is not something new. It aligns with its leadership’s responsibility as a market leader to educate the world about stablecoin technology,” Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Tether, said.

Tether to Reduce Commercial Papers

Tether’s last quarterly attestation report was published in May 2022 by the Cayman Islands independent auditing firm, MHA Cayman, which showed that USDT was fully backed. At the time, the paper showed that Tether reduced its riskier commercial paper by 17% over the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the company recently announced that it plans to reduce the commercial debt in its reserves.