Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has published its 12th audit of reserves. The report, conducted on January 01, reveals that all coins held by customers on the exchange are 100% backed. The reserves include 597,658.074 Bitcoins (BTC), 4,265,238.882 Ethereum (ETH), nearly 32 million BNB, and USDT stablecoins amounting to 16.85 billion, 123.20%. This move is seen as a significant step in assuring customers that their investments are secure.
The release of the audit report comes amidst major leadership changes at the exchange. Co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as ‘CZ’, recently pleaded guilty to violations related to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and failing to register as a money-transmitting business. He also admitted to not maintaining a proper anti-money laundering (AML) program. As a result, he agreed to pay over $4 billion to resolve the investigations by the Justice Department and his exchange agreed to exit the U.S. market. CZ was also banned from taking any management position in the company for three years.
In a recent development, CZ has been barred from leaving the U.S. District Judge Richard Jones ruled that CZ cannot return to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before his sentencing as he poses a flight risk. John Reed Stark, a former chief at the SEC Office of Internet Enforcement, suggested that CZ might be facing a minimum of ten years in prison.
One of CZ’s legacies is the introduction of Proof of Reserves (PoR) in 2022. These reports help exchanges prove that customer assets are safe by disclosing all the digital assets held in the exchange’s wallets. This practice is seen as a way to ensure that exchanges are not misappropriating customer assets, as was the case with the FTX exchange. In the FTX case, founder and former CEO Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried, or SBF, was charged with misappropriating billions of dollars in customer holdings and faces decades in prison.
Despite initial withdrawals following the case against it, Binance has managed to steady its ship. Deposits have been returning and the exchange remains popular with traders. However, a significant share of its market has been taken by Coinbase, which is now poised to dominate the U.S. market.
Binance coin (BNB), which is backed by the exchange, has seen a nearly 2% rise in the last 24 hours. At the time of press, the token is trading at $304. The 4th ranked coin has recouped its weekly losses which stand at nearly 5%.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | North America |
| Countries | 🇺🇸 🇦🇪 |
| Sentiment | neutral |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Changpeng Zhao, Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried, Richard Jones, John Reed Stark |
| Companies | Coinbase, Binance, SEC Office of Internet Enforcement, FTX exchange, Justice Department |
| Currencies | Ethereum, united states dollar, Bitcoin, Tether, Arcade Arcoin |
| Securities | None |
