Binance Maintains Over 100% Bitcoin Reserve Ratio for 30 Months Straight

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has now maintained a reserve ratio above 100% for 30 consecutive months.

The streak was confirmed in the latest snapshot at Bitcoin block height 894,668, showing the company holding 616,886 BTC to back customer net balances of 604,410 BTC, equating to a reserve ratio of 102%.

Transparency Standard

The exchange’s proof-of-reserve (PoR) initiative started as a direct response to the FTX collapse in November 2022, which exposed a catastrophic mismanagement of user funds. Since then, Binance has published monthly attestations, verified by on-chain experts and third-party auditors like Mazars.

CryptoQuant analyst Maartun, who reviewed the exchange’s latest snapshot, emphasized the importance of its track record:

“Since publishing their first Proof-of-Reserve report in late 2022, Binance has consistently maintained a reserve ratio above 100%,” he wrote. “This shows a strong asset backing and ongoing commitment to transparency.”

Of the 616,886 BTC, Maarten revealed that 603,374 are held on-chain, while another 13,512 reside in third-party custody on the BNB Smart Chain as BTCB.

In March, CryptoPotato highlighted that Binance’s reserve ratio had been on a 29-month run above 100%, even though, at the time, the company had been forced to fend off rumors that it was selling its BTC for USDC. CryptoQuant’s analysis helped dispel those allegations, with the firm stating that all figures presented by Binance matched on-chain data.

Past independent audits have also validated the crypto exchange’s transparency claims. In July last year, Mazars confirmed that Binance held 101% of customers’ BTC deposits, reinforcing the integrity of its Merkle tree-based PoR system.

Market Implications

Although some industry voices, including Kraken CEO Jesse Powell, have criticized proof-of-reserve reports for not accounting for liabilities, Binance’s steady reserve record has helped it maintain market confidence.

This strength is also mirrored in the exchange’s stablecoin reserves. At the beginning of the year, it indicated that it held over $31 billion in stablecoins, a nearly fivefold increase from mid-2023, showing a strong liquidity position and institutional investor activity.

Meanwhile, the crypto company’s native BNB token has continued its steady ascent. At the time of writing, it was up a marginal 1.3% in 24 hours, trading at just under $658 per CoinGecko data.

Over the past week, it gained 8.5%, slightly underperforming the broader crypto market, which jumped 12.4% in the same period. Despite the lag, the previous 30 days saw BNB register an 11.4% uptick, with its current price only being 16.5% shy of its all-time high.