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Binance outflows hit $6B as Mazars halts ‘proof of reserves’ work

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Re: Binance outflows hit $6B as Mazars halts ‘proof of reserves’ work

#91
post #4

>Both KuCoin and Crypto.com said they had provided customers with the ability to verify their own holdings individually online. How does this even work?

https://www.kraken.com/proof-of-reserves

Shortcomings and Future Improvements

In the interest of championing transparency, we would like to share some of the shortcomings in the Proof of Reserves process that we’ve identified.

A Proof of Reserves involves proving control over on-chain funds at the point in time of the audit, but cannot prove exclusive possession of private keys that may have theoretically been duplicated by an attacker.

The procedure cannot identify any hidden encumbrances or prove that funds had not been borrowed for purposes of passing the audit. Similarly, keys may have been lost or funds stolen since the latest audit.

The auditor must be competent and independent to minimize the risk of duplicity on the part of the auditee, or collusion amongst the parties.

Re: Binance outflows hit $6B as Mazars halts ‘proof of reserves’ work

#93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are in the top 10 in my country and in many others, and they have been cautioned, which is regulator speech for 'improve your act or we'll go after you'. That means that they are on thin ice with respect to any future mistakes (specifically in their crypto division) and that their reputation (for the whole company) is at risk. The effect is that they will go through their customer portfolio and decide which ones…

I may have misunderstood. The first paragraph of your comment seems reassuring (like it's just risk aversion at Mazars) but then: > If this was a canary in the coalmine it just started wheezing strangely and it looks a little dizzy. sounds like a reason to leave the mine (i.e. there's something really wrong and this is a warning sign).

If it sounded reassuring to you then I should work on my writing skills, it certainly wasn't meant that way.

> sounds like a reason to leave the mine.

Absolutely, if you have funds in this - and any other unaudited - exchange GTFO or you may lose everything. Either their claim that they have the funds is real and you get your money and later you can re-deposit it or you'll be at least not one of the ones left holding the bag.

Re: Binance outflows hit $6B as Mazars halts ‘proof of reserves’ work

#94

Even an audited exchange like Coinbase that is trying to do everything right is still self reporting loses like $430M in quarter 1 of 2022 just by operating their business correctly. Not your keys, not your crypto. Anyone storing their crypto on any exchange has this risk.

For now at least with Coinbase it is the investors funds at risk, not the customers funds. And that example shows how hard it is to run such a business profitably.

So what does that tell about the exchanges that are managed in an unauditable way...

Re: Binance outflows hit $6B as Mazars halts ‘proof of reserves’ work

#95

Even an audited exchange like Coinbase that is trying to do everything right is still self reporting loses like $430M in quarter 1 of 2022 just by operating their business correctly. Not your keys, not your crypto. Anyone storing their crypto on any exchange has this risk.

Even if you have the keys, it’s not your store of value, as people will find out when this implodes.

What are your keys worth if the price of Bitcoin is close to zero?

Re: Binance outflows hit $6B as Mazars halts ‘proof of reserves’ work

#98
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You would be surprised at human greed. Was it last week when there was an interview with several "investors", and pretty much all of them admitted they knew they were speculating in a highly volatile and unregulated market before they lost all their savings in FTX' crash? They knew the risks, they tried anyway, some really needed that money.

It is greed for sure. But it is also the lack of legit opportunities to invest, unless one is an accredited investor. I found a handful of places I wanted to invest, but I can't, because I am not an accredited investor. I am left with stock market and crypto. It is super funny (sad?) that I can go to Vegas and blow up my life savings in a matter of hours. There are no rules to save me from that. But there are rules c…

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Re: Binance outflows hit $6B as Mazars halts ‘proof of reserves’ work

#99
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You would be surprised at human greed. Was it last week when there was an interview with several "investors", and pretty much all of them admitted they knew they were speculating in a highly volatile and unregulated market before they lost all their savings in FTX' crash? They knew the risks, they tried anyway, some really needed that money.

It is greed for sure. But it is also the lack of legit opportunities to invest, unless one is an accredited investor. I found a handful of places I wanted to invest, but I can't, because I am not an accredited investor. I am left with stock market and crypto. It is super funny (sad?) that I can go to Vegas and blow up my life savings in a matter of hours. There are no rules to save me from that. But there are rules c…

Per https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/accreditedinvestor.asp#... the requirements to be an accredited investor are well within reach of quite a few software developers. Apparently I qualify despite being in the Midwest where salaries are lower than the coast and I'm not a particularly great developer.

Based on these requirements I would guess that 10% of the population could certainly qualify given that a quick Google search says that almost 9% of the population are millionaires.

Re: Binance outflows hit $6B as Mazars halts ‘proof of reserves’ work

#100
post #72

"Binance has said it holds more than $60bn in assets, enough to honour withdrawals. The company’s disclosures do not include its liabilities, which makes it difficult to ascertain its financial health." Possibilities: 1) They're insolvent. Liabilities exceed assets. (Like FTX.) 2) Their accounting is so screwed up they can't produce a balance sheet. (Like FTX). 3) They have a large number of interconnected corporate…

> 3) They have a large number of interconnected corporate entities and nobody has the big picture. (Like FTX).

This isn't true, is it? FTX had The issue was more with (1) and (2).

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