Binance may have billions stashed in secret reserves not disclosed to public – Sources Binance may have billions stashed in secret reserves not disclosed to public – Sources
Wallets not available to the public may hold more than 50% of Binance's total assets, sources told CryptoSlate.
1 min read
Updated: Dec. 13, 2022 at 2:25 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Binance’s publicly reported reserves may only be a fraction of all the assets it holds and the exchange has “more money than it is letting on,” a source told CryptoSlate, citing people familiar with the matter — including ex-Binance employees.
Sources told CryptoSlate that “Binance is safe” since the exchange’s CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao has disclosed “maybe only half or a fraction of what he actually owns.”
“In the early days of Binance most of the funds were going directly to CZ which means there’s reserves behind the reserves.”
Concerning the potential lack of transparency around Binance’s reserves, sources said “you should be more worried if there were no money behind CZ.”
Compared to FTX, which was heavily regulated and thus investors had to be audited in order to participate in funding rounds, “Binance had around ten early equity investors who gave CZ money directly.”
These early investors received BNB tokens and “exited a while back,” thus CZ is under no pressure from these investments unlike SBF at FTX.
Publicly known wallets for Binance and CZ are likely only the wallets the exchange has chosen to disclose. Moreover, some early investors in Binance had “equity rolled over from CZ’s previous ventures.”
The “big difference [between Binance and FTX] is in how the money is being stored.”
The source said, adding that CZ likely has crypto wallets that have not been made public, and thus, fears of an improper audit are unfounded.
“Binance is very centralized and much more centralized than any other exchange in the world right now.”
According to people familiar with internal ongoing at the exchange.
The source added that there is a potential need for “greater transparency” from Binance while establishing that the exchange is likely in a much better position than it is letting on.
Mentioned in this article
Author 
Liam 'Akiba' Wright
Also known as "Akiba," Liam Wright is a reporter, podcast producer, and Editor-in-Chief at CryptoSlate. He believes that decentralized technology has the potential to make widespread positive change.
Featured Story
Advertise Here
In this article
BNB, or Binance Coin, is a cryptocurrency created by Binance.
Binance
Binance is a global cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as “CZ,” is a notable figure in the cryptocurrency world, primarily for founding and leading Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.