On Feb. 22, cryptocurrency exchange MEXC Global released a snapshot of its Proof of Reserve (PoR) after 45 days of testing. In a document, MEXC claims its reserve ratio for Tether, USDC, Bitcoin and Ethereum were 120.70%, 240.18%, 116.50%, and 110.53% via the Merkle tree method.
As of the February 10 snapshot, MEXC held $232.4 million, $33 million, 1,869 BTC, and 12,472 ETH in custodial user assets. At the same time, the total assets of the four cryptocurrencies in the MEXC wallet are 280.6 USDT, 79.4 million USD, 2177.5 BTC, and 13,785.6 ETH.
The exchange also plans to establish a “MEXC Investor Protection Fund” on top of existing measures to protect user assets, the spokesperson said. Ahead of the announcement, MEXC published a list of wallet addresses belonging to the exchange. When asked about regulation, the spokesperson explained that MEXC has obtained money services business licenses in the United States, Canada, Switzerland and Estonia, and that “clear regulatory standards are very important for the industry as a whole.”
While the exchange welcomes the PoR approach as a measure of financial health, other experts disagree. Syracuse University law professor Jack Graves told Cointelegraph Magazine that PoR does not disclose other key information such as liabilities and leverage. “You can audit how much assets a crypto exchange has on-chain, but how much of it is collateral? It’s hard to find out unless you have access to their financial services, books and records,” he explained.
