In keeping with its regular practice, Binance, the prominent cryptocurrency exchange, recently published its Proof-of-Reserve (POR) report, providing insights into the assets held on the platform. Notably, the recent POR sheds light on a shift in the direction of Binance’s stablecoins.
A Close Look at Binance and Ethereum Reserves
As of the time of this report, the net customer balance for Bitcoin on Binance amounted to over 588,000 BTC, while the exchange’s balance exceeded 618,000 BTC. In comparison to the figures reported in the previous POR, customer user balances have remained relatively stable, with a minor decline in the exchange balance. The previous POR indicated an exchange balance of over 621,000 BTCs. The overall BTC ratio has held steady at 105%.
Similarly, the net customer balance for Ethereum surpassed 3.8 million ETH, with the exchange net balance surpassing 4 million ETH. Like the BTC balances, ETH balances have witnessed a slight decrease from the previous POR, where customer net balances exceeded 4 million ETH. It’s noteworthy that the ratio increased from 102% in the previous report to the current level of 105%.
Binance Adopts a New Stablecoin
Paxos Trust Company, responsible for minting Binance’s stablecoin BUSD, terminated its association with Binance, ceasing the issuance of BUSD on February 21st. This decision came in response to a consumer alert from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), instructing Paxos, based in New York, to halt the minting of BUSD. Consequently, Binance has embraced another stablecoin, as evidenced in the POR.
Reviewing the POR, it becomes apparent that Binance and its users now hold balances of First Digital USD (FDUSD). At the time of this report, the customer net balance exceeded 196 million FDUSD, while the exchange net balance surpassed 230 million FDUSD, resulting in a ratio of 116%. However, it’s essential to note that both the net and exchange balances for FDUSD remain lower when compared to leading stablecoins such as USDT and USDC.
For instance, the USDT customer net balance exceeded 15.4 billion, with the exchange net balance at 18.2 billion. Furthermore, both customer and exchange net balances for USDT and USDC exceeded 1 billion.
BSC Transaction Trends
Recently, Binance has faced some controversy, and certain developments involving its executives have contributed to an atmosphere of uncertainty. While these developments may not be directly related, there has been a noticeable decline in the number of transactions on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC).
As of September 1st, data from DefiLlama indicated over 3 million transactions on the Binance Smart Chain. However, at the time of this report, the number of transactions has decreased to approximately 2.8 million.
Interestingly, despite the decrease in transaction volume, the Total Value Locked (TVL) on the Binance Smart Chain experienced a slight increase. As of this report, the TVL hovers around $2.9 billion, indicating that while transaction activity has dipped, there is still significant capital involved in the BSC ecosystem.