Paolo Ardoino announced that a KPMG audit has confirmed the physical gold backing Tether's popular gold token and that the company's total reserves are $6.8 billion above its liabilities. The audit, carried out in a secret Swiss vault, also verified the existence of roughly 150 tonnes of bullion that underpins the firm's digital dollar stablecoin, USDT.
Why the audit matters
The verification comes at a time when stablecoins have faced persistent doubts about their solvency. Tether, founded in 2014, issues USDT, the world's largest stablecoin by market capitalisation, and its claims of full backing have been a focal point for regulators and investors alike. By securing an independent seal of approval from KPMG, the firm hopes to silence long-standing conspiracy theories that its $183 billion supply is under-collateralised.
Beyond credibility, the audit highlights Tether's strategic shift away from the "crypto" label. Ardoino told me,
"It was a heavy-lifting exercise,"and added that the company now sees itself as both a digital dollar and a digital gold enterprise serving more than 650 million users, many of whom live in regions where local currencies have been repeatedly devalued.
What comes next for Tether
With the audit settled, Ardoino said Tether will accelerate its move into basic artificial-intelligence services. He noted that even in the poorest countries, most people own a mobile phone capable of running simple AI models. The plan is to offer low-cost AI tools across sectors such as health, finance and sports, allowing users to pay a modest monthly fee in USDT or another digital payment method.
Ardoino did not detail the exact pricing model, but the ambition is to avoid creating a new "intelligence gap" that could deepen existing economic inequalities. He warned,
"My fear is this, right? We have already a huge wage gap that … is creating an instability in society … This cannot become a wealth gap multiplied by an intelligence gap,"underscoring the social dimension of the project.
If the rollout proceeds, Tether could become a broader technology platform, extending the original promise of blockchain, a decentralised, global network where anyone can participate, into the realm of everyday AI applications. The next months will reveal whether the firm can translate its financial muscle into a sustainable AI service offering.