Binance and OKX Set Benchmark in Proof-of-Reserves Among Major Crypto Exchanges

Last Updated: November 2, 2026

Quick Answer: In June 2025, on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant ranked Binance and OKX first and second among five major exchanges for proof of reserves, because both published monthly reports showing reserves above 100% of customer balances. As of November 2, 2026, Binance has completed a zero-knowledge proof for its October 31 reserves snapshot taken after the October 29 hack, and OKX’s latest (49th) report shows $27.8 billion in primary assets, with Bitcoin backed at 108%.

This report was first published on June 18, 2025, and is kept as written apart from corrections. The “Update (November 2026)” section below covers what has changed since.

• Binance and OKX led CryptoQuant’s June 2025 comparison, with reserve ratios above 100% and regular monthly reports.
• Bybit and Kraken improved transparency but reported less often or less consistently.
• Coinbase published no proof of reserves reports in the period analyzed, creating a significant transparency gap.

Proof of reserves (PoR) has become a major transparency tool for cryptocurrency exchanges to show that user funds are fully backed by actual reserves. A review of reserve ratios at five leading exchanges, Binance, OKX, Bybit, Kraken and Coinbase, published by CryptoQuant on June 18, 2025, gives a clear picture of their reserve backing and reporting practices. The reserve ratio compares the assets an exchange holds with the balances it owes its customers: a ratio above 100% means the exchange’s holdings exceed its customer liabilities.

Among the exchanges analyzed, Binance kept a reserve ratio above 100% in every report, signaling that its asset holdings exceeded total customer liabilities. Binance published its proof of reserves reports monthly and on time, reflecting a commitment to regular disclosure of its financial standing.

OKX followed with reserve ratios that also stayed above 100%, slightly below Binance’s on average. The exchange likewise reported monthly and punctually.

Bybit and Kraken Show Progress With Varied Reporting Frequency

Bybit also displays a reserve ratio consistently above 100%, ranging between 105% and 115%. The exchange improved its transparency by increasing the frequency of its proof of reserves reporting from every two months to monthly.

Kraken’s reserve data, in contrast, was limited. Its reserve ratio stayed above 100%, but the exchange had released only four reports since November 2022, according to CryptoQuant. This irregularity made it harder to assess Kraken’s ongoing reserve position.

Coinbase Does Not Publish Proof-of-Reserves Reports

During the entire analyzed period, Coinbase did not publish a single proof of reserves report, so CryptoQuant had no reserve ratio data for Coinbase in any month. For an exchange of Coinbase’s size and market power, the lack of proof of reserves reporting limits its transparency and the public’s ability to assess its liquidity, the analysis argued.

According to the analysis, Binance and OKX were setting measurable standards for asset backing and transparency through steady reserve ratios and frequent updates. Bybit and Kraken had made significant progress on disclosure, though neither matched the consistency of the two leaders. The absence of public proof of reserves data left Coinbase with the largest transparency gap among its peers.

Update (November 2026)

More than 16 months after this report, proof of reserves is back in focus. Hackers took about $6.3 billion from Binance’s hot wallets on October 29, 2026, as widely reported, and the FBI attributed the theft to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking unit, on October 31, according to CoinDesk. Here is where the exchanges stand as of November 2, 2026.

What is proof of reserves, and what are its limits?

Proof of reserves is a report in which an exchange shows that the crypto it holds is at least equal to what it owes customers in those assets at one moment, called the snapshot. Customer balances go into a Merkle tree, a structure of hashes whose single “root” acts as a fingerprint of every balance, so each user can check that their own balance was included. The exchange also proves that it controls the wallets holding the reserves. Zero-knowledge proofs, used by Binance (zk-SNARK) and OKX (zk-STARK), add a cryptographic proof that the total of customer balances is covered without revealing any individual balance.

The method has clear limits:

• It is a snapshot. It shows one moment, not what happens the day after. Kraken’s own proof of reserves page says the process cannot account for funds stolen or keys lost after the latest review.
• It cannot see everything. Kraken’s page also says the process cannot prove exclusive control of private keys or identify hidden encumbrances, such as reserves pledged elsewhere. Debts outside the customer ledger do not appear.
• It covers only the listed assets. Binance’s October 31 proof covers ten tokens, not every coin on the exchange.
• It is not a full audit. In December 2022, after the collapse of FTX, the SEC’s then acting chief accountant Paul Munter said investors should not place too much confidence in the mere fact that a company says it has a proof of reserves, The Block reported. Around the same time, accounting firm Mazars paused its proof of reserves work for crypto exchanges.

What does Binance’s latest proof of reserves show after the hack?

In Recovery Update #3 on October 31, Binance said it had replenished the affected assets with its own funds and took a new proof of reserves snapshot at 00:00 UTC that day. In Recovery Update #5, published on November 2 at about 12:45 UTC, Binance said the full zero-knowledge proof for that snapshot is complete. Users holding BTC, ETH, USDT, BNB, SOL, USDC, XRP, USD1, RLUSD or ZEC can now verify on their own that their Binance balances are backed at a minimum of 1:1.

Binance says it has covered about 95% of the stolen amount, and that the remaining 5% consists of less liquid tokens outside those ten. That 95% figure is Binance’s own and has not been independently verified; the zero-knowledge proof covers the ten listed tokens at the snapshot, not the whole recovery. Binance plans another snapshot with more tokens on November 4, followed by a new proof it estimates will take about 40 to 50 hours to generate. It also said the next withdrawal phase, for more networks and assets, was planned for November 3. Our report on how Binance withdrawals reopened after the hack covers the first phase.

What does OKX’s latest proof of reserves show?

OKX’s proof of reserves page shows its 49th report: $27.8 billion in primary assets, with reserve ratios of 108% for BTC, 101% for ETH, 106% for USDT and 100% for USDC. The report covers 22 coins and uses zk-STARK proofs. The page does not name an auditor, and we could not see a snapshot date on it on November 2. OKX has kept the monthly cadence that CryptoQuant praised in 2025, and we found no report that OKX’s systems or customer funds were affected by the Binance hack. Our OKX review covers its fees, licenses and US access.

How can you verify your own balance?

• Binance: log in, download the open-source verifier tool from Binance’s proof of reserves page and run it on your own computer, following Binance’s step-by-step guide. Binance says the verifier code is published on GitHub and was independently audited.
• OKX: open the Audits page in your account, save your audit data as a file, download the zk-STARK liability file from the audit files page and run OKX’s zk-STARK validator on both, as described in OKX’s open-source proof of reserves repository.
• Kraken: in Kraken Pro, open the account menu, choose Proof of Reserves, pick the report date and select “Verify yourself”, per Kraken’s proof of reserves page.

A successful check confirms that your balance was included in that snapshot and that the snapshot’s total is covered. It does not tell you what happened afterward, so check the snapshot date. Only use the exchange’s official website, and never share your login details with a third-party “verification” service.

Coinbase, which is listed in the US, still does not publish a Merkle-tree proof of reserves and instead reports customer assets in its audited SEC filings. Our best crypto exchanges ranking compares proof of reserves practice alongside fees and licensing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is proof of reserves in crypto?
Proof of reserves is a report in which an exchange shows that the crypto it holds is at least equal to what it owes customers in those assets at one moment. Customer balances are committed to a Merkle tree so each user can check their own inclusion, and the exchange proves it controls the reserve wallets. Binance and OKX add zero-knowledge proofs to show the totals are covered.

Does proof of reserves mean my funds are safe?
Not on its own. A proof of reserves shows backing at a single snapshot, covers only the listed assets and cannot reveal debts outside the customer ledger or reserves pledged elsewhere. Kraken’s own page says it cannot account for funds lost after the latest review. It is useful evidence, but it is not a full financial audit or a guarantee.

Is Binance fully backed after the October 2026 hack?
Binance says the zero-knowledge proof for its October 31 snapshot, completed on November 2, shows that user balances in ten major tokens, including BTC, ETH, USDT and XRP, are backed at least 1:1. Binance also says it has covered about 95% of the stolen amount, a figure not independently verified. A new snapshot with more tokens is planned for November 4.

How do I check my balance in an exchange’s proof of reserves?
Log in to the exchange’s official website and open its proof of reserves or audit page. Binance and OKX let you download your own data and run an open-source verifier on your computer, while Kraken offers a “Verify yourself” option in Kraken Pro. A successful check confirms your balance was included in that snapshot, so always note the snapshot date.

Data sources: CryptoQuant (June 18, 2025, as reported by CryptoPotato and Tronweekly), Binance Recovery Updates #3 and #5 (October 31 and November 2, 2026), OKX proof of reserves page and GitHub repository, Kraken proof of reserves page, CoinDesk, The Block. Checked November 2, 2026.