Binance Releases Proof of Reserves for its Bitcoin Holdings
Binance has shared proof of the amount of Bitcoin it holds to increase transparency and trust after FTX collapsed after mishandling users’ funds.
Crypto exchange Binance has released its new proof-of-reserve system that provides evidence that the exchange holds the digital assets it says it does. The move aims to restore user confidence in the wake of FTX becoming insolvent and bankrupt due to its CEO and the Alameda Research team mishandling users’ funds.
Binance Holds 575.7k BTC in Customers’ Bitcoin, With an On-chain Reserve of 582.4k BTC
To begin with, Binance will share proof of its Bitcoin holdings ‘with other tokens and networks being added in the next couple of weeks.’
As of November 22nd, 2022, Binance holds 575,742.4228 BTC of its customers’ Bitcoin with an additional on-chain reserve of 582,485.9302 BTC. This, in turn, means that the Bitcoin reserve ratio on Binance is 101%.
Binance Plans More Proof-of-Reserves for Additional Assets
As mentioned above, Binance plans to release proof-of-reserves for additional assets it holds on the platform. In particular, the exchange plans to provide updates for Ethereum, Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD) and Binance Coin (BNB). The team explained that the next batch of proof-of-reserves should be out in two weeks.
In addition, the Binance team will start involving third-party auditors to confirm their proof-of-reserve system and results. The exchange also plans to ‘Implement ZK-SNARKs for PoR, improving privacy and robustness, and proving the total net balance (USD) of each user is non-negative.’
Binance Increases its Commitment to the Industry Recovery Initiative to $2 Billion
Yesterday, Binance launched its Industry Recovery Initiative to assist crypto projects and businesses facing liquidity issues due to the ripple effects of FTX collapsing. The exchange initially committed $1 billion with an intent to top up the amount with another $1 billion.
Less than twenty-four hours later, CZ updated via Twitter that the exchange had fulfilled its promise of topping up the initial $1 billion with another one, bringing the total available for the initiative to $2 billion.
~By John P. Njui~
