OKX Unveils 2nd Proof-of-Reserves Report, Promises Monthly Publication

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX published a second proof of reserves (PoR) report, adding features that allow users to verify that the second-largest platform by trading volume has sufficient assets to handle customer withdrawals.

The report, released Thursday, shows that as of Tuesday, 12:00 UTC, OKX’s wallets held 113,754 bitcoin ($1.87 billion) against a user balance of 112,192 bitcoin (BTC). That’s a bitcoin reserve ratio of 101%, a slight decline from 102% disclosed in the first report released on Nov. 22.

The reserve ratio for leading stablecoin tether (USDT) held steady at 101%, while ether’s (ETH) reserve ratio ticked higher to 103% from 102%. The exchange addresses tracked by analytics firm Nansen show BTC, ETH and USDT make up over 90% of holdings.

Proof of reserves is an audit method adopted by cryptocurrency exchanges in the aftermath of FTX’s collapse to prove that the custodian, in this case, OKX, isn’t lending out customer funds, as FTX did, and has the assets it claims to hold on behalf of its users. They have, nevertheless, been criticized for not providing information about liabilities and internal quality controls, a focal point in the crypto community. For instance, Binance’s recent proof of reserves report from French audit firm Mazars was criticized for lack of details about the way exchange liquidates assets to cover margin loans.

OKX said in a press release shared with CoinDesk that it would release proof of funds on the 22nd day of each month to win customer trust and allow users to audit its 23,000 addresses, which the exchange plans to continue using in the future.

Users can now view and download the old and new reserve ratios and assess the exchange’s health and the safety of their assets.

“Publishing PoR results on a monthly basis strengthens our commitment to lead the industry when it comes to transparency and trust,” Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique said in the release. “At OKX, we believe that PoR should be verifiable via open source tools so that users can self-verify the balances and ownership of our reserve addresses.”

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