After the FTX crash, big crypto exchanges have had to prove they have enough reserves to meet customer demands. Although it’s not clear if these asset board and proof-of reserves lists are real, it provides insight into the large amount of cryptocurrency held by these major exchanges. For example, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, holds $66 billion in crypto assets, and is responsible for more than 6% of the $1 trillion global crypto economy.
Inspection of Five Reserve Test Lists Reveals Insight into Large Crypto Holdings
Coindesk first reported on Alameda Research’s balance sheet, which showed that their quant trading desk had a large amount of Ftx (FTT tokens). Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) then declared on November 6, 2022 that his exchange would sell its FTT holdings. FTT’s value plummeted, and FTX filed for bankruptcy five days later. It was difficult to monitor stock reserves prior to the FTX bankruptcy, and so complaints arose from the crypto industry about certain types of lists and how they are audited.
Acting chief accountant for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Munter, has recently announced that they are closely monitoring the developments of Proof of Reserves (POR). Despite the criticisms, test reserve lists are available, providing information about the entities that have them. Allowing individuals to monitor their holdings can help improve market stability.
Here’s a look at five different centralized cryptocurrency exchanges and the crypto assets they hold, as of January 22, 2023 according to nansen.ai. Nansen provides a dashboard that gives access to 18 central crypto exchanges.
Binance
Binance, the largest crypto exchange, has $66 billion worth of digital assets. On January 22, it had 486,427 bitcoins worth $11.1million. It also holds $13.2 billion in tether USDT, and $13.3 trillion BUSD. Additionally, Binance has 4.7 Million Aethers valued at $7.6 Billion, and $13 trillion in other crypto assets
Cryptocurrency exchanges have become a major part of the digital asset economy, with the biggest five platforms currently holding a combined total of $88.6 billion in crypto assets, which is 8.6% of the total crypto market value. In this article, we take a look at Binance, OKx, Crypto.com, Bitfinex and Huobi, and how their holdings have changed over time.
Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, with a total value of 486,427 Bitcoin (BTC) which currently stands at around $4.36 million. 28.15% of Bitfinex’s assets are held in unused Leo tokens (LEO), worth approximately $2.2 trillion. Additionally, the exchange also holds 466.014 Ether (ETH), valued at $756 million as of January 22. Bitfinex also manages 331 million USDT and 0.644% of its assets in XRP, which amounts to approximately $126 million.
Huobi, the second largest exchange platform, has seen an increase in its holdings since December 31, 2017, now standing at $3.17 trillion. 30.91% of Huobi’s assets are held in Huobi tokens (HT), which is currently worth around $980 million. The exchange also holds 617 million USDT and 9 million Tron (TRX), with a combined value of $596 million. 12.13% of Huobi’s assets are held in BTC, 5.35% in ETH and 13.35% in numerous alt-crypto assets. Huobi also has $7.7 million worth of HUSD, which is 30.66% less than it was previously.
All five exchanges mentioned above currently hold a combined total of $88.6 billion, which is 8.6% of the current USD value of the entire crypto economy. In conclusion, it is worth noting that exchanges are increasingly publishing asset dashboards which provide an overview of their holdings. However, it is important to keep in mind that these figures can be subject to change and may not be completely accurate.
What do you think about the way exchanges are providing transparency? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
