The Binance cryptocurrency exchange has announced that they will be providing a Merkle tree-based proof of funds within the “next few weeks”. In the meantime, the exchange has provided a snapshot of its Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether USDT, Binance USD, USD Coin and BNB balances.
| Currency | Holdings | USD Value |
|---|---|---|
| Binance USD | ~21.7 Billion BUSD | $21.7 B |
| Tether | ~17.6 Billion USDT | $17.60 B |
| BNB | ~58 Million BNB | $16.22 B |
| Bitcoin | ~475,000 BTC | $7.90 B |
| Ethereum | ~4.8 Million ETH | $5.80 B |
| USD Coin | ~601 Million USDC | $0.60 B |
As part of #Binance‘s ongoing commitment to transparency, we are sharing details of our hot and cold wallet addresses.
Stay tuned as we will publish a Merkle tree proof of funds within the next few weeks.
More details here ⤵️
— Binance (@binance) November 10, 2022
The move by Binance to work on publicly displaying proof of funds is undoubtedly triggered by the apparent collapse of FTX and Alameda Research, which has shaken investors’ faith in the cryptocurrency market.
Other exchanges have also expressed similar intentions. For example, Bybit also plans to release a Merkle-tree based proof of reserves solution, and Crypto.com is planning on publishing an audited proof of reserves.
USDT’s $1 peg comes under pressure
As the FTX / Alameda situation unfolds, we’re seeing some unusual activity in the crypto markets—USDT’s $1 peg has come under pressure. At the time of writing, 1 USDT can be acquired for about 0.988 USD on the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange’s USDT/USD trading pair.
Recent USDT/USD price action on Kraken.
BUSD displays increased strength
At the same time, Binance’s BUSD stablecoin has been gaining strength. On Binance, USDT is priced at 1.0177 USDT at the time of writing.
BUSD/USDT has seen a spike against USDT.
