Tether
Tether Holdings
Tether is the issuer of USDT, the world's largest USD-pegged stablecoin (about $190 billion outstanding in May 2026, up from ~$118 billion at the start of 2025 and roughly 60% of the entire stablecoin market). USDT is technically issued by Tether Holdings Limited, while operations sit with a group that in January 2025 relocated its headquarters to El Salvador after obtaining a Digital Asset Service Provider licence. Reported reserves are mostly US Treasuries (~80% in the Q4 2025 attestation), plus gold, Bitcoin and secured loans. Tether publishes quarterly attestations signed by BDO Italia and has appointed KPMG as its first auditor for a full audit, not yet delivered. USDT is not compliant with the EU's MiCA regulation and was delisted from EU-regulated exchanges at the 1 July 2026 deadline.
Data & conditions
| Account fee | Not disclosed |
|---|---|
| ATM withdrawal | Free |
| Fund custody | Custodial (platform holds funds) |
| KYC | Full |
| Supported countries | LATAM, APAC, MENA, AFRICA |
| Regulator | Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales (El Salvador) |
| OAM Italy registration | No |
| Segment | B2B, B2C |
| Funding / solidity | Issuer of USDT, the world's largest stablecoin (~$190bn outstanding in May 2026, up from ~$118bn at the start of 2025; ~60% of the stablecoin market). Reserves mainly in US Treasuries (~80% per BDO Italia's Q4 2025 attestation), plus gold (~5%), Bitcoin (~3%) and secured loans |
| MiCA / License status | Digital Asset Service Provider licence (El Salvador) DASP licence in El Salvador; USDT is not MiCA-compliant and has been delisted from several EU platforms |
Strengths
- Most liquid and widely used stablecoin in the world, accepted almost everywhere in crypto
- Reported reserves mostly in US Treasuries
- DASP licence in El Salvador and dominant role in emerging markets
- No notable sovereignty advantage documented.
Weaknesses
- Quarterly attestations (BDO Italia) but no full independent audit: KPMG has been appointed as first auditor, but the audit has not yet been delivered
- Not MiCA-compliant: delisted from EU-regulated exchanges at the 1 July 2026 deadline (Binance, Kraken, Coinbase EU, Crypto.com, Revolut)
- Centralized issuer with the ability to freeze USDT addresses
- Custodial: the platform holds your funds and can freeze or lose them.
- Full KYC required: verified identity, zero pseudonymity.
- Subject to regulation (DASP licence in El Salvador; USDT is not MiCA-compliant and has been delisted from several EU platforms): reporting to authorities and freezes on order.
Verdict
Score 4.2/5, very strong profile. In its favour: most liquid and widely used stablecoin in the world, accepted almost everywhere in crypto. The trade-off to weigh: quarterly attestations (BDO Italia) but no full independent audit: KPMG has been appointed as first auditor, but the audit has not yet been delivered.
On the Sovereignty lens the score is 0.6/5 (weak): the strength is censorship resistance (1.5/5), while privacy & anonymity (0.0/5) is the weak link.
Promp's editorial rating based on real fees and net annual cost. Promp reviews third-party products independently.
"Sovereignty" rating: score computed on privacy/anonymity (30%), fund control (20%), censorship resistance (20%), trustless/auditability (20%) and costs (10%). Same data, different weights.
FAQ
Is USDT available to Italian users?
USDT is not compliant with the EU's MiCA regulation and has been delisted from several regulated platforms in the EU. It remains widely traded globally but is not intended for regulated retail distribution in Italy/EU.
Are USDT's reserves verified by an audit?
Tether publishes quarterly attestations of its reserves signed by BDO Italia (mostly US Treasuries), but historically not a full audit to Big Four standards. It has appointed KPMG as its first auditor for a full audit, not yet delivered.
Sources
- coinmarketcap.com Data verified on Jul 17, 2026
- eco.com Data verified on Jul 17, 2026
- en.wikipedia.org Storia Data verified on Jul 17, 2026
- phemex.com Data verified on Jul 17, 2026
Show 1 more source
- tether.io Sede Data verified on Jul 17, 2026
Update history
- Re-verification (2nd pass): USDT circulating ~$190bn (May 2026, per CoinMarketCap); Q4 2025 reserve composition updated from BDO Italia attestation (~80% US Treasuries, ~5% gold, ~3% Bitcoin, ~5% secured loans); added that Tether appointed KPMG as its first full-audit auditor (not yet delivered); confirmed USDT delisting from EU-regulated exchanges (Binance, Kraken, Coinbase EU, Crypto.com, Revolut) at the 1 July 2026 MiCA deadline.