Understanding Bybit’s Proof of Reserves

The Proof of Reserves report by Bybit demonstrates that the exchange maintains reserve ratios above 100% for all major assets. This is a crucial assurance for users, affirming that their holdings are fully backed by on-chain assets. The report has been independently verified by Hacken, further underlining Bybit’s dedication to trust and transparency.

Key Highlights from the Latest Report

As of December 17, 2025, Bybit’s reserves exceed user holdings, ensuring a robust backing of all assets:

• USDT Reserve Ratio: 102% (User Assets: 5.9B USDT | Bybit Wallet Balance: 6.1B USDT)
• USDC Reserve Ratio: 112% (User Assets: 583.5M USDC | Bybit Wallet Balance: 658.4M USDC)
• BTC Reserve Ratio: 105% (User Assets: 59,711 BTC | Bybit Wallet Balance: 63,206 BTC)
• ETH Reserve Ratio: 101% (User Assets: 528,519 ETH | Bybit Wallet Balance: 536,845 ETH)

Exceeding the 1:1 Backing Standard

Bybit’s reserve ratios consistently exceed the 1:1 threshold, providing additional liquidity buffers beyond the baseline user obligations. This reflects a balanced mix of customer holdings and reserve assets, ensuring complete asset backing.

The adoption of Proof of Reserves is becoming a standard across the digital asset industry. Bybit, along with other leading centralized exchanges, is playing a pivotal role in establishing PoR as a transparency mechanism.

Regular Updates and Verification

Bybit updates its reserve snapshots regularly, with independent verification reports published monthly. This consistent practice underscores Bybit’s commitment to maintaining transparency and trust with its user base.

About Bybit

Founded in 2018, Bybit serves a global community of over 80 million users and is renowned for its secure custody, diverse marketplaces, and advanced blockchain tools. Bybit bridges the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance, empowering users to unlock the potential of Web3.

For more information, visit the Bybit Proof of Reserves page and stay updated through their social media channels.

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DoubleZero is a blockchain protocol that focuses on creating a high-performance physical data network. The aim is to enhance global connectivity, particularly for high-speed applications. The confirmation from the foundation seeks to alleviate any potential worries investors and stakeholders might have regarding the integrity and operational strategies of the DoubleZero Foundation.

DoubleZero Foundation’s Commitment to Integrity

The announcement by the DoubleZero Foundation underscores its dedication to maintaining a trustworthy and secure environment for all its participants. The foundation plays a pivotal role in bolstering the development, decentralization, security, and adoption of the DoubleZero network. Ensuring that no tokens have been sold by the foundation itself reinforces the organization’s pledge to uphold transparency and accountability.

Key Milestones for DoubleZero

Recently, DoubleZero achieved a significant milestone in its compliance journey. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed that the native token’s distribution to network contributors does not require securities registration. This achievement reflects the foundation’s commitment to aligning with regulatory standards and further solidifies its position within the crypto industry.

Aligning with regulatory compliance not only enhances the trust of current stakeholders but also attracts potential contributors who prioritize legality and ethical practices in blockchain projects. The DoubleZero Foundation’s proactive approach to regulation marks it as a leader in the industry.

Why No Token Sale? The Strategic Implications

By choosing not to sell tokens, the DoubleZero Foundation ensures that its resources are strategically allocated towards building and expanding the network infrastructure. This decision highlights a long-term vision for sustainable growth over immediate financial gains. Such a strategy is essential for fostering innovation and resilience within the volatile crypto market.

Moreover, refraining from token sales allows the foundation to maintain a higher degree of control over the token economy, minimizing risks associated with market volatility and potential speculative activities. This controlled environment is crucial for maintaining a stable and robust network.

In conclusion, the DoubleZero Foundation’s announcement is a testament to its steadfast commitment to transparency, security, and regulatory compliance. By not selling tokens, the foundation positions itself as a reliable and forward-thinking entity in the blockchain sector, prioritizing the long-term success and stability of the network.

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During a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Lutnick detailed this innovative approach, highlighting the administration’s commitment to integrating blockchain technology into national economic data management. This unprecedented step marks a significant shift in how the U.S. government handles sensitive economic indicators.

Why Blockchain Economic Data Matters

The decision to place economic data, such as GDP, on the blockchain is driven by the potential for greater transparency and reliability. Current systems, while effective, lack the inherent trust that blockchain offers. By utilizing blockchain, data can be distributed more widely and securely, ensuring that it remains unaltered and accessible.

The Department of Commerce’s initiative with blockchain economic data is just the beginning. Once the implementation details are ironed out, other economic indicators are expected to follow suit. This could potentially lead to a more open and transparent government data system, benefitting both citizens and policymakers.

Implementation and Future Implications

While the specific blockchain to be used remains undisclosed, the implications are profound. Blockchain’s immutability ensures that once data is recorded, it cannot be changed, thus providing an accurate and trustworthy record. This could significantly reduce misinformation and enhance public confidence in government-released statistics.

Lutnick, a proponent of cryptocurrency and blockchain, emphasized that this move is part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to leverage technology for economic leadership. The administration’s embrace of digital assets and blockchain underlines its vision to keep America at the forefront of the global economy.

Moreover, this initiative aligns with ongoing efforts by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to clarify the regulatory landscape of cryptocurrencies, further solidifying the U.S.’s position in the digital finance arena.

Broader Crypto Advancements

The integration of blockchain economic data is one among many crypto-related advancements under the current administration. Other initiatives include the promotion of dollar-backed stablecoins to strengthen the dollar’s status as a global reserve currency.

Howard Lutnick, confirmed as Secretary of Commerce in February, has a long history in financial services with Cantor Fitzgerald, a firm known for its custodial role in the crypto sphere, particularly with Tether (USDT). His leadership is expected to bring more crypto-friendly policies to the forefront.

As blockchain technology continues to evolve, the U.S. can expect more government sectors to adopt similar approaches, paving the way for a future where blockchain is integral to public data management.

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On June 4, the Foundation disclosed in a blog post its intention to annually set aside 15% of its treasury for operational costs, whilst maintaining a fiscal safety net large enough to sustain two and a half years of expenditure. According to this strategy, ETH would only be liquidated if the liquid reserves fell below the specified limit. The Foundation plans to conduct quarterly assessments of reserve levels to decide if asset sales are necessary, thus helping to retain treasury robustness amidst market volatility.

The post stated, “Our goal is to gradually decrease annual operating expenses over the next five years, reaching a long-term 5% baseline typical of endowment-based entities.” The Foundation believes that the years 2025-26 will be a critical period for Ethereum, necessitating targeted investment in key areas.

In response to factors such as fluctuating market conditions, diversification needs, and new yield opportunities, the Foundation will frequently shift funds between protocols. It highlighted that these withdrawals should be viewed in this context, and not as signs of non-support.

The non-profit plans to cultivate and manage its treasury using secure, auditable, and permissionless DeFi protocols. This includes independently staking ETH and lending wrapped ETH (wETH) via established DeFi platforms. Moreover, it intends to periodically diversify its portfolio by converting some assets into traditional currencies.

A new fundamental principle named “Defipunk”, inspired by the early cypherpunk movement, is also incorporated into the financial strategy. This principle underscores the significance of decentralization, financial privacy, and open-source innovation.

The Ethereum Foundation, in its commitment to transparency, has also restructured its internal operations. A specialized finance team will now release quarterly reports highlighting performance, asset distribution, and strategic actions. Annual reports will offer deeper insights into ETH deployment and fiat-crypto conversions.

The non-profit also recently renamed its research and development unit to “Protocol”. This team will prioritize improving Ethereum’s core infrastructure, increasing blob space, and enhancing user experience.

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In a blog post dated April 14, Buterin strongly stated that privacy is a fundamental need to uphold individual freedom and act as a shield against the escalating power of corporations and governments. He dismissed the widely-held belief that heightened transparency solely brings benefits, asserting that it depends on human nature assumptions that no longer hold true.

Buterin questioned the assumptions that global political leaders are “generally well-intentioned and rational,” and that society continues to evolve positively. He contended that these assumptions are becoming increasingly disputed. He pointed out that there isn’t a single major country where the first assumption is widely accepted. Additionally, he stated that cultural tolerance is declining at a fast pace.

On a personal level, Buterin admitted that his reduced privacy has been occasionally distressing. He cautioned, “Every action taken in the public domain has a minuscule chance of unexpectedly turning into a public media story”. He stressed that although it may seem privacy is only beneficial for those who step outside societal norms, it’s important to remember, “you never know when you will become one of them”.

He anticipates the demand for privacy will only intensify as technology continues to evolve, with innovations such as brain-computer interfaces potentially allowing automated systems to directly access our thoughts. He also expressed concern about automated price gouging, where companies charge individuals based on their perceived ability to pay.

Buterin also vehemently opposed the idea of government backdoors in systems designed for privacy protection. He highlighted that in cases like Know Your Customer data, not just governments, but also various corporate entities can access private data. This information is managed and stored by payment processors, banks, and other intermediaries.

Buterin suggested solutions based on zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs), which allow for precise control over who can access what information. These are cryptographic protocols that allow one party to prove a statement’s truth without revealing any additional information. He also suggested the use of privacy pools for regulatory-compliant Ether anonymization and on-device anti-fraud scanning to identify potential misinformation and scams.

This stance on privacy comes after Buterin’s recent release of a privacy roadmap for Ethereum, where he outlined the necessary short-term changes to the base protocol and ecosystem to enhance user privacy.

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During the early part of 2023, the downfall of crypto-friendly banks prompted the first accusations of Operation Chokepoint 2.0. Critics like venture capitalist Nic Carter viewed it as an attempt by the government to coerce banks into severing connections with cryptocurrency firms.

Even with recent regulatory changes, the FDIC and other agencies continue to “oppose basic transparency,” as stated by Grewal in a March 8 post on X. “They just don’t seem to get the message,” he added.

Coinbase has called on the FDIC to reveal in court how it performed “due diligence” to avoid the destruction of any related documents. Grewal claims that the agency has “consistently declined” to comply.

These comments followed the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) softening its stance on banks’ interaction with crypto. This happened just hours after President Donald Trump pledged to put an end to the ongoing crackdown hampering the ability of crypto firms to access banking services. Trump made these remarks during the White House Crypto Summit, declaring an end to Operation Chokepoint 2.0.

During Operation Chokepoint 2.0, approximately 30 tech and crypto founders in the US were “secretly debanked,” as reported by Cointelegraph in November 2024.

Grewal also accused the FDIC of not fully cooperating with Coinbase’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documentation requests. He stated that the FDIC has produced only partial documents with little relevance to the specific FOIA policies or practices challenged by History Associates in its amended complaint. Grewal questioned, “What exactly are they hiding?”

Grewal’s team has requested a “sworn testimony” from the FDIC, given the heavy redactions in the documents provided, making them almost incomprehensible.

On March 4, Coinbase also submitted a FOIA request to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to learn about the number of investigations and enforcement actions against crypto firms between April 17, 2021, and January 20, 2025.

Earlier, Trump had signed an executive order to alleviate some banking difficulties for Web3 companies and establish clearer regulations for digital assets. This order excluded the US Federal Reserve and FDIC from cryptocurrency working groups, potentially ending the prior debanking efforts in the crypto industry, as reported by Cointelegraph on January 24.

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Binance, the leading global cryptocurrency exchange, has recently unveiled its August 2023 reserve report. The report reveals a reserve ratio significantly exceeding 100% for all its major cryptocurrency holdings, underscoring the exchange’s robust financial health.

This disclosure is part of Binance’s ongoing commitment to uphold a Proof of Reserves (PoR) system. The PoR system provides evidence that Binance holds sufficient funds to cover all customer deposits. The report is based on an audit for BTC Block Height 801130, with aggregated data updated to August 1st, 2023.

Proof of Reserves (PoR) is a transparency protocol that verifies the solvency of a cryptocurrency exchange. It serves as evidence that the exchange holds enough funds to cover users’ assets on a 1:1 ratio. In essence, when a user deposits a Bitcoin, Binance’s reserves increase by at least one Bitcoin, ensuring all client funds are fully backed. These figures do not include Binance’s corporate holdings, which are kept separate.

Binance’s PoR Report: A Closer Look at the Numbers

Binance’s PoR report indicates that the exchange’s reserves significantly surpass the customer net balance for all reported cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, Tether, BUSD, and USDC. The reserve rates range from 101.62% to 117.99%, demonstrating that the company has ample reserves to meet all potential customer withdrawals.

The PoR system aims to enhance transparency, safety, and user protection in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. It discourages exchanges from misusing user funds and fosters trust among users. In line with this, Binance allows users to verify their account’s inclusion in the last PoR verification, further emphasizing the exchange’s commitment to transparency and user trust.

The Role of Merkle Trees and zk-SNARKs in the Verification Process

To ensure it holds all user assets 1:1, Binance has implemented a system that leverages Merkle trees and zk-SNARKs (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge). A Merkle Tree is a cryptographic tool that condenses large volumes of data into a single hash, called a Merkle Root. This root acts as a cryptographic “seal” summarizing all the input data. Merkle Trees allow users to verify specific contents included within a particular set of sealed data.

In the context of PoR, Binance uses the properties of Merkle Trees to verify that individual user accounts are incorporated within the liabilities report inspected by an auditor. Each user can verify their asset holdings using their unique generated Merkle hash/record ID.

In addition to Merkle Trees, Binance also utilizes zk-SNARKs in the verification process. A zk-SNARK is a proof protocol that allows one to prove that they know a value without revealing what that value is. In the case of Binance, the exchange uses a zk-SNARK to demonstrate that all the leaf nodes’ balance sets (i.e., user account balances) contribute to the exchange’s claimed total user asset balance.

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