KPMG gives clean opinion on Tether Gold’s $2.246 billion reserve

By Elena Vasquez

KPMG U.S. issued an unqualified audit opinion on the financial statements of TG Commodities, S.A. de C.V., the issuer of Tether Gold (XAU₮), for the year ended December 31, 2025. The disclosed reserve comprised 520,089.350 fine troy ounces of allocated physical gold, valued at approximately $2.246 billion, against 520,089.300 tokens in circulation.

The opinion supports the claim that XAU₮ was fully backed at the reporting date, but its reach ends there. Any reserve or token growth after Dec. 31, 2025 remains outside the audited window, a limit that matters because Tether later reported a materially larger inventory.

What did KPMG actually verify?

According to the disclosure, KPMG did not rely solely on reports from third-party custodians. It physically counted every individual gold bar supporting XAU₮, then verified each bar’s existence and serial number on site.

An unqualified opinion means KPMG found the financial statements fairly presented under US generally accepted accounting principles, without the caveats attached to modified opinions. The audit covered the financial statements as a whole, including the disclosed physical-gold reserve behind the tokens.

Each XAU₮ token is designed to represent one fine troy ounce of gold. The allocated metal sits in certified Swiss vaults and meets London Good Delivery standards, while the disclosed gold exceeds token circulation by 0.05 fine troy ounce.

The source does not explain whether that 0.05-ounce difference reflects rounding, a reserve buffer or another accounting convention. In plain terms, KPMG tested the physical existence of the year-end gold, not merely a custodian’s paperwork.

How does this compare with a quarterly attestation?

XAU₮ is now the second Tether product to complete a full financial-statement audit by a Big Four firm. Tether International, the issuer of USDT, received its unqualified opinion on August 13, 2026.

Tether also reports ongoing quarterly attestations performed by BDO Italia. A quarterly attestation generally confirms reserves at a specific point in time, whereas a full audit examines the financial statements as a whole, providing stronger evidence for institutional observers.

For XAU₮ holders, the central operational question is whether the allocated metal actually exists, and KPMG’s physical count directly addressed that question. The practical distinction is that an attestation checks a point in time, while a full audit evaluates the financial statements as a whole.

What remains outside the audited period?

The disclosure describes Tether Gold as the largest tokenized-gold product by market value. It does not identify the market-data provider, valuation date or comparison set, so readers cannot test that ranking from the announcement alone.

The later disclosure reported reserves exceeding 827,000 ounces by the third quarter of 2026, roughly 59% above the audited year-end amount. Those additional ounces fall outside KPMG’s opinion and depend on BDO Italia’s quarterly attestations until the next full audit.

The announcement also does not specify the blockchain, token contract standard, vault operator or redemption mechanics; the audit opinion should not be read as a finding on those points. It gives no date for the next full audit, so quarterly BDO Italia attestations remain the disclosed evidence for reserves beyond Dec. 31, 2025.