Binance has just released its latest Proof of Reserves report showing that the amount of Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) held by users has increased compared to last month, while the balance of Ether (ETH) has decreased by nearly 10%.
The report conducted on August 1 shows that the amount of BTC held by users is over 591,000, an increase of 2.99% since July 1. This figure corresponds to an increase of approximately 17,100 BTC. The USDT balance also increased slightly by 0.87%, with a total amount held by users of 29.85 billion USDT.
In contrast, ETH has seen a significant drop. Users currently hold 4.555 million ETH, a decrease of 496,000 ETH, marking a decline of 9.84% compared to last month.
Binance uses this report to demonstrate that all customer assets are backed at a 1:1 ratio. Simply put, this means that if someone deposits one Bitcoin, Binance will hold at least one Bitcoin in its reserves to correspond. They use a system called Merkle Tree and zk-SNARK to verify, allowing users to check and confirm their balances.
Decrease in ETH and Increase in BTC, USDT Reserves
The decrease in ETH is the most notable change. This could mean that some users may be selling or withdrawing ETH from the platform to stake directly or store in their own wallets. This is not surprising, as some investors prefer to stake ETH directly to receive better rewards.
The increase in BTC and USDT suggests that some users may be preparing to trade, while others continue to hold funds on Binance. BTC remains the most popular cryptocurrency to hold, and as a stablecoin, USDT is often used when the market is volatile.
Binance, the most popular cryptocurrency exchange, holds more cryptocurrency assets than the number of users on the platform. BTC is supported at 102.96%, USDT at 102.27%, and ETH at 100.67%.