Since 2022, “proof of reserves” has become the default answer to the question every exchange user asks: are my coins actually there? But a reserve report is only as good as what it measures — and what it leaves out.
Assets are only half the equation
Showing that an exchange controls 200,000 BTX means little unless you also know how much it owes its customers. That’s why QUANTA publishes a Merkle tree of every customer balance alongside the on-chain addresses we sign from.
A reserve ratio is a fraction. If you only see the numerator, you haven’t seen anything.
How to verify your own balance
- Download your leaf hash from Settings → Security.
- Recompute the path to the published Merkle root.
- Compare the root with the auditor’s signed attestation.
The process takes about two minutes and needs no trust in us — only maths. In our next post we’ll look at zero-knowledge proofs that hide individual balances while still proving solvency.
What it doesn’t prove
A snapshot can’t rule out borrowing assets the day before an audit, nor does it cover off-chain liabilities. That’s why we combine monthly attestations with continuous on-chain monitoring and a public insurance fund.
