Tether’s First Real Audit: Is Your Crypto Safe Now?

"In March 2026, it announced that it had hired a big four accounting firm to conduct its first full independent audit of USDT's reserves. ... In any case, this audit once it occurs will mark the most significant transparency milestone in Tether's history and should silence USDT's critics once and for all."

"And given this fact, Tether's full audit is arguably bearish for Circle. ... Tether's announcement that it plans to register USDT under the Clarity Act caused Circle CRCL to plummet almost 20% in a single day, the sharpest drop in the stock's history."

"Ultimately though, the most notable change is likely to be the market share each stable coin holds. Assuming that USDT's audit goes well, USDC will effectively lose its safer edge. If that happens, then institutions could either start using USDT instead or could even rotate their funds out of USDC and into USDT if only to diversify."

"However, this assumes that the audit goes well. There's also the risk that it uncovers some ugly truths such as a shortfall of highly illiquid assets or a heavy reliance on volatile assets like Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. To be blunt, if the audit finds even the slightest problem, then there is a possibility that Tether's strategy here could backfire. In this scenario, the inverse effect would likely happen. institutional capital would quickly rotate out of USDT and into USDC, massively boosting Circle share of the stable coin market."

"Put simply, XPL could be the best proxy for Tether stock, at least while the company remains private."

"Naturally, this means that both Tron's TRX and Ethereum's ETH could rally if Tether's audits go well and USDT's usage and supply increase."

"Some analysts have also speculated that Tether's audit plans are a signal that the company is looking to go public, much like Circle did with its CRCL stock. The thing is, this might not just be speculation. According to a December 2025 article by Bloomberg, Tether's executives were apparently considering tokenizing the company's stock after that aforementioned planned raise of $20 billion. Whether this actually happens remains to be seen, but it does seem likely. Needless to say, this would be even more bearish for Circle because Tether is much larger and also doesn't share profits on its reserves with another company."