Tether Gold Passes KPMG Audit: Can It Beat America’s Biggest Gold Fund?
Tether Gold (XAU₮) has received a clean audit from KPMG, confirming 520,089.35 ounces of gold worth $2.25 backs the tokens.
KPMG auditors reportedly counted the gold bar by bar, finding every ounce matched. Tether Gold (XAU₮), a crypto token backed by physical gold, received an unqualified opinion—the cleanest audit result possible. This marks Tether's first full audit of any kind.
Gold Reserves Confirmed
At year-end 2025, KPMG verified 520,089.35 ounces of gold worth $2.25 billion in Swiss vaults. Tether had issued 520,089.30 tokens, with each token representing one ounce of gold.
I firmly believe XAU₮ is on track to become the first true competitor to the gold ETF market
US Market Access Blocked
Tether aims to compete with SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), America's largest gold fund holding $134.29 billion—39 times XAU₮'s $3.44 billion. Unlike GLD, which any US investor can access, Tether Gold's terms explicitly prohibit US persons from opening accounts, except for large institutions and wealthy individuals.
Direct purchases require a minimum of 50 tokens, about $208,000. While Tether charges 0.25% to buy and redeem with no annual fee, GLD costs 0.40% yearly, though State Street's smaller GLDM charges just 0.10%.
Unaudited 2026 Reserves
The KPMG audit only covers gold through December 31, 2025. By September 30, Tether reported 827,418 ounces, but the additional gold has only undergone quarterly sample tests, not a full audit. This gap mirrors previous concerns where Tether's reserve cushion had shrunk 40% before an audit confirmed it.
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