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Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

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Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#11
Binance is the closest thing to a global, borderless bank that exists today. They exist everywhere and nowhere. Their legal entities shift based on what is needed at the moment. They have the ability to easily create tens of millions of dollars as needed based on their BNB reserves, tight relationship with Tether, their ability to launch new token projects (i.e. unregulated securities offerings), and their stablecoin BUSD. They act as an investment bank - I know a prominent crypto entrepreneur that got loaned 8 figures after a text message to help finance an acquisition.

I would say it’s quite likely they are fractional reserve but they are so absolutely huge it would take a lot more FUD than exists currently to damage them even a little. They have a lot of room to maneuver.

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#13

From TFA: > The reserve report, released Wednesday, is a five-page letter from a partner at the South African affiliate of the global accounting firm Mazars. It contained three numbers. The letter wasn’t an audit report, didn’t address the effectiveness of the company’s internal financial-reporting controls, and said Mazars did “not express an opinion or an assurance conclusion,” meaning it wasn’t vouching for the nu…

Yes. Agreed upon procedures is a standard non audit report done with a particular target use case in mind. They can be very valuable or complete garbage. It depends on its design and purpose. The disclosures you quote are standard and would form part of any agreed upon procedures engagement. There is no nefariousness at play. However, the better questions are: 1- Does this report result in meaningful assurance and if…

> There is no nefariousness at play.

By Mazars.

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#14
post #3

Binance is even more shady than FTX. They are most likely not solvent. Personally, I'd move all my funds off binance to off-exchange wallets for the time being.

It's difficult for anyone to be more shady than the people who stole ten billion dollars from their customers.

Give it a few weeks to play out, at least before making that call.

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#15

Binance is the closest thing to a global, borderless bank that exists today. They exist everywhere and nowhere. Their legal entities shift based on what is needed at the moment. They have the ability to easily create tens of millions of dollars as needed based on their BNB reserves, tight relationship with Tether, their ability to launch new token projects (i.e. unregulated securities offerings), and their stablecoin…

This absolutely screams red flags.

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#16

From TFA: > The reserve report, released Wednesday, is a five-page letter from a partner at the South African affiliate of the global accounting firm Mazars. It contained three numbers. The letter wasn’t an audit report, didn’t address the effectiveness of the company’s internal financial-reporting controls, and said Mazars did “not express an opinion or an assurance conclusion,” meaning it wasn’t vouching for the nu…

Yes. Agreed upon procedures is a standard non audit report done with a particular target use case in mind. They can be very valuable or complete garbage. It depends on its design and purpose. The disclosures you quote are standard and would form part of any agreed upon procedures engagement. There is no nefariousness at play. However, the better questions are: 1- Does this report result in meaningful assurance and if…

If I squint, I can understand the value of a non-audit-audit in some circumstances. But I don't understand the value of it in this circumstance, except for the value in obscuring one's finances behind a "serious" auditor's letterhead.

Put another way: the context is anxious investors. Is this intended to assuage them, or is it intended to dupe them?

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's difficult for anyone to be more shady than the people who stole ten billion dollars from their customers.

Give it a few weeks to play out, at least before making that call.

Giving it a few weeks to play out is how people end up without money once withdrawals are frozen.

I'm not saying it would happen here, but in general I don't see any incentive to wait to find out and risk losing everything. Why not withdraw early and wait to see how it plays out while your money is safe?

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Give it a few weeks to play out, at least before making that call.

Giving it a few weeks to play out is how people end up without money once withdrawals are frozen. I'm not saying it would happen here, but in general I don't see any incentive to wait to find out and risk losing everything. Why not withdraw early and wait to see how it plays out while your money is safe?

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