In a move towards greater transparency and better alignment with international accounting standards, stablecoin operator Tether Holdings Limited has turned to BDO Italia to carry out regular reviews and certifications of its dollar reserves.
Tether, which operates the USDT stablecoin, officially began working with BDO Italia in July, the company revealed on Thursday. BDO Italia will undertake an independent review of Tether’s stablecoin reserves to ensure that each unit of USDT is backed by cash or cash equivalents. Through the BDO reviews, Tether intends to publish public attestation reports on a monthly basis instead of quarterly. The attestations will include updates on the number of USDT tokens issued, as well as the company’s reserves.
BDO Italia is the Italian branch of BDO Global, an international network of public accounting firms headquartered in Zaventem, Belgium. BDO Global is among the top five accounting firms in Europe by total revenue. The company has offices in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.
Tether wants to finally get rid of commercial paper backing for its US dollar-based stablecoin “without incurring losses.”
The firm expects to decrease its volume from $11B to $8.4B by the end of June. https://t.co/IzzjTKnpPq
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) June 15, 2022
Tether wants to finally get rid of commercial paper backing for its US dollar-based stablecoin “without incurring any losses.”
The company expects to reduce its volume from $11 billion to $8.4 billion by the end of June.
Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s chief technology officer, said that his company’s promise to offer more transparency reflects its growing mandate beyond offering liquidity to cryptocurrency traders:
“Tether’s utility has grown beyond just being a tool to quickly get in and out of trading positions, and is therefore mission critical for us to scale alongside the peer-to-peer and payments markets.”
Tether began publishing quarterly statements of its stablecoin reserves in May 2021 as part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General’s Office in February of the same year. Tether had previously passed various assurance tests by local accounting firm Moore Cayman that its reserves exceeded liabilities.
Tether’s initial statements showed that a sizeable portion of its reserves was backed by commercial paper. The company later announced plans to zero out its commercial paper exposure. Tether commercial paper holdings were estimated to be worth approximately $3.5 billion at the end of July, up from $20.1 billion in March.
USDT remains the largest stablecoin by market cap, at $67.6 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. After a three-month downward trend, USDT supply began to gradually rise in August, providing cautious optimism that the cryptocurrency market was turning around.
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information set forth herein should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
Investments in crypto assets are not regulated. They may not be suitable for retail investors and the full amount invested may be lost. The services or products offered are not aimed at or accessible to investors in Spain.