Tether’s Latest Attestation
Stablecoin giant Tether published a new attestation by accounting firm MHA Cayman regarding the company’s reserve assets. These attestations are part of a company effort to improve transparency surrounding the popular token.
The attestation shows that Tether’s consolidated total assets are approximately $78,675,642,677, while the company’s total liabilities are listed at $78,538,305,451. The report notes that liabilities related to the company’s tokens is $78,480,852,949.
While the report shows the company has more than sufficient backing of assets to cover liabilities, it is unlikely that this information will satisfy the firm’s most vocal critics, who have argued that a lack of transparency around the kinds of commercial paper the company holds on its balance sheet is a major problem.
Still, it must be noted that Tether’s efforts at providing attestations are among the best in the space. No stablecoin company has been the subject of a full and independent audit, so attestations by independent firms are really the best that users can hope for at this point. Regardless of the limitations of such attestations, their existence is a positive step, particularly for users of DeFi products who rely on centralized stablecoins like USDC and Tether.
In providing their basis for the opinion set forth in the attestation report, MHA Cayman explains:
“Our opinion is limited solely to the CRR and the corresponding consolidated total assets and consolidated total liabilities as of 31 December 2021, at 11:59 PM UTC. Activity prior to and after this time and date was not considered when testing the balances and information described above. In addition, we have not performed any procedures or provided any level of assurance on the financial or non-financial activity on dates or times other than that noted within this report.”
In other words, MHA Cayman is relying on information in Tether’s Consolidated Reserves Report (CRR), and only for the time period in question. To read the full report, check out the original document here.
