The fall of FTX saw crypto exchanges like Binance being put under the microscope in recent weeks. However, the crypto exchange has taken the criticism in stride and in turn, has been able to set even higher standards of operations for all exchanges across the space. The most recent developments, including a full audit by an external party, have cemented Binance’s dominance as the leading crypto exchange in the world.
Audit Shows Reserves Are Filled Up
Binance had previously released its proof of reserves about two weeks ago to show investors that there were enough reserves to cover all customer deposits. However, in a show of good faith, the crypto company hired Mazars, a third-party auditing firm, to confirm that the reserves indeed hold the required crypto. On Wednesday, one week after the announcement that Mazars would audit Binance, the firm released its findings in connection with the crypto exchange.
Mazars revealed in its report that the crypto exchange holds enough bitcoin and wrapped bitcoin to cover all customer deposits. It determined that the crypto exchange actually held more bitcoin on its balance than what is owed to customers, making it possible for the exchange to cover deposited funds up to 101%.
BNB price trending at $285 | Source: BNBUSD on TradingView.com
The customer net liability balance was shown to be 575,742.42 and the crypto exchange’s total asset balance was sitting at 582,485.93, according to the report. Mazars also verified the Merkle Tree scripts used by Binance and developed their own Merkle Tree to carry out the auditing to arrive at the same figure the exchange did.
Image: Reuters
Binance Making Crypto Easier
Crypto exchange Binance also recently announced that it would extend its zero-fee service to Ethereum. About six months ago, the exchange debuted zero fees for spot bitcoin trading across multiple pairs and the same is being applied to Ethereum on Binance US.
In the announcement, the exchange said that there would be no fees for buying or trading across the ETH/USD, ETH/USDT, ETH/BUSD, and ETH/USDC pairs on the exchange, with no trading volume requirement. This means US users can trade across these pairs, in addition to the previously announced bitcoin pairs, without worrying about any associated fees.
Just in time for the holidays, the best #crypto platform for low fees just got even better.#BinanceUS is pleased to offer zero-fees when you buy #Ethereum or trade ETH/USD, ETH/USDT, ETH/BUSD & ETH/USDC, for all users with no trading volume requirements.
— Binance.US 🇺🇸 (@BinanceUS) December 7, 2022
The recent developments from Binance have sparked renewed faith in the hearts of crypto users across the space who have lauded the exchange’s commitment to transparency and stellar service. It’s no surprise it remains the largest crypto exchange with over $9.2 billion in trading volume in just the last 24 hours alone.
Other exchanges are also following Binance’s lead during this time. Kucoin has also hired the Mazars auditing firm to verify its proof of reserves and determine if user funds are fully collateralized.
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com
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