Proof of Reserves Explained: How to Check an Exchange in 2026
What proof of reserves shows and what it hides, the reserve ratios and protection funds of Binance, Bitget, Bybit and Gate, and how to check your own balance.
In this article
After the Bitget hack in September and the Binance hack in October 2026, the most common question is whether money left on an exchange is actually covered. This guide explains what proof of reserves measures, what it leaves out and where the protection funds of Binance, Bitget, Bybit and Gate stand. It is not investment advice.
The short answer
- Proof of reserves (PoR) is a snapshot on a date: the exchange shows how much it holds in wallets and how much it owes users, coin by coin.
- A ratio above 100% means balances in those coins were covered on that day. It says nothing about the company’s debts or about tomorrow.
- A protection fund is something else: a separate pool for paying losses. It is what came into play in both 2026 hacks.
- All four exchanges publish proof of reserves, but with different dates, coins and verification methods. Comparing only the headline number is misleading.
What the number leaves out
- The snapshot date. The figure holds for the day it was calculated. A large outflow or a hack the next day does not show up.
- The debt side. The proof compares assets with user balances. Loans, obligations to creditors and other company debts sit outside it.
- Which coins are covered. Each exchange chooses which assets go in. A high overall ratio can hide one coin that is tighter.
Who this guide is for
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| People who keep crypto on an exchange for weeks or months | How to read PoR before deciding how much to leave there |
| Binance or Bitget users after the hacks | Who paid for the loss, and from which fund |
| People comparing exchanges | All four sets of numbers side by side, each with its date |
| People who want to check their own balance | The steps, and when individual checking is not possible |
| People looking for a guarantee nothing will go wrong | Not useful: none of these figures is a guarantee |
| US and Canadian residents | Not covered: all four exchanges exclude both countries |
The four exchanges at a glance, with dates
| PoR (latest found) | Date | Protection fund | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | BTC at 100.04% (third-party) | October 31, 2026 | SAFU, about US$1 billion in BTC |
| Bitget | 135% overall, 19 assets | September 2026 | Over US$464 million (September 24, 2026) |
| Bybit | All 50 assets above 100% (Hacken) | October 27, 2026 | Derivatives insurance fund; size not published |
| Gate | 118.49% overall, US$8.688 billion | September 2026 | SAFU; US$500 million as of August 8, 2025 (third-party, may be outdated) |
Data checked on November 8, 2026. Ratios change with every new snapshot; the official page always prevails.
What proof of reserves measures
What are “user liabilities”?
The sum of every balance customers hold on the exchange, coin by coin. In a hypothetical example, if all users together hold 1,000 BTC, the BTC liability is 1,000. The exchange then shows wallet addresses that should add up to at least that amount.
How does that become a ratio?
Ratio = assets in wallets ÷ user balances. In the same example, 1,020 BTC in wallets against 1,000 BTC of balances gives 102%. Below 100%, there is not enough of that coin to pay everyone at once.
Who checks the figures?
It depends on the exchange. Bybit says its 41st snapshot, dated October 27, 2026, was independently verified by the audit firm Hacken. For the other three, the official page describes the method; check there whether an outside party was involved.
Why isn’t 100% the same as safe?
Because the proof looks at one side of the balance sheet, on one day. A company can have 100% of user balances covered and still carry debts outside that calculation. The number is an indicator, not a seal of approval.
Exchange by exchange
Binance
Binance publishes its proof of reserves on a dedicated page with an interactive chart. Third-party summaries put the BTC ratio above 100% in several 2026 snapshots: 100.22% in May, 100.35% in early October and 100.04% on October 31, 2026, after the hack. The SAFU fund holds about US$1 billion, kept in BTC.
Worth knowing: the official page shows figures in an interactive chart, and the values above come from third-party summaries, so check the current snapshot directly. For the hack itself, see what happened in the Binance hack.
Bitget
The official September 2026 update showed an overall ratio of 135% across 19 assets. Third-party summaries cite earlier months between 115% and 131%, with 127% in May. The Protection Fund was set up in 2022 with an initial commitment of US$300 million and held over US$464 million on September 24, 2026. The Bitget review has the full history.
Bybit
The 41st snapshot, dated October 27, 2026 and verified by Hacken, showed all 50 covered assets above 100%, with about US$17.3 billion in major assets.
| Asset | Ratio (October 27, 2026) |
|---|---|
| USDT | 112% |
| USDC | 405% |
| BTC | 102% |
| ETH | 101% |
Bybit runs a derivatives insurance fund that absorbs losses from liquidations when margin falls short. Its size has not been published, and it is not a fund for reimbursing hacks.
Gate
Gate’s September 2026 announcement cited US$8.688 billion in total reserves and an overall ratio of 118.49%. Other snapshots showed 115.47% (BTC 127.33%, ETH 120.54%) and 115.69% (BTC 123.52%). Gate’s SAFU has existed since 2019; the US$500 million figure comes from a third party and is dated August 8, 2025, so it may be outdated.
Gate publishes an official course on using its proof of reserves to check your own funds.
Protection funds: what happens in a hack
Proof of reserves answers “are balances covered today?”. A protection fund answers “who pays if someone steals?”. 2026 produced two real tests:
| Case | Amount | Who paid | What was recovered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitget, September 24, 2026 | About US$350–390 million (initial official estimate US$351.6M; media later revised upward) | Protection Fund, according to Bitget | About US$1.1 million frozen by October 2 |
| Binance, October 29, 2026 | About US$6.3 billion (official estimate) | SAFU and corporate treasury, according to Binance | About US$3 billion frozen on-chain with partners |
Two points show up in both cases. First, coverage was a company decision, not a legal obligation. Second, the fund is not always enough by itself: Binance’s SAFU holds about US$1 billion, far below the amount affected, which is why the corporate treasury stepped in as well. Binance has not said how much came from each source.
Bybit suffered a hack of about US$1.46 billion in February 2025, outside the period covered here. For Gate, no major incident was found in 2026.
How to check it yourself
- Open the exchange’s official PoR page, not a screenshot on social media.
- Note the snapshot date. An old snapshot says little about today.
- Find the coin you actually hold, not just the overall ratio. If you hold USDT, the USDT ratio is the one that matters.
- See who verified it. A named independent auditor carries more weight than a number with no method.
- Use the individual check, if there is one: inside the account, some exchanges show a record confirming your balance was included (the most common method is a Merkle tree).
- Compare with earlier snapshots. A sharp drop or a skipped month deserves attention.
- After an incident, wait for the next snapshot. That is what the Binance case showed: BTC at 100.04% on October 31, 2026.
If an exchange offers no individual check, step 5 cannot be done; weigh how much to leave sitting there instead.
What each signal means
| If you see… | It suggests | It does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| Overall ratio above 100% | Balances covered in total, on that date | That every single coin is above 100% |
| One coin below 100% | Not enough of that coin to pay everyone at once | That the exchange is insolvent |
| Snapshot verified by an outside auditor | Someone external checked assets and balances | That the company’s debts were audited |
| A large protection fund | Money set aside for losses | That it covers any amount |
| An exchange that already paid for a hack | It delivered once | That it will deliver next time |
The four side by side
| Binance | Bitget | Bybit | Gate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proof of reserves | BTC 100.04% (Oct 31, 2026, third-party) | 135%, 19 assets (Sep 2026) | 50 assets above 100% (Oct 27, 2026) | 118.49% (Sep 2026) |
| Outside verification named | See official page | See official page | Hacken | See official page |
| User fund | SAFU, about US$1B | Over US$464M | Derivatives insurance fund, size not published | SAFU, US$500M (Aug 2025, third-party) |
| 2026 hack | Yes, Oct 29, covered | Yes, Sep 24, covered | None found | None found |
| MiCA (EU) | No licence | No licence yet | Yes, through Bybit EU (third-party) | Yes (Malta), though its restricted-locations page still lists some EU countries |
| With the Satovela code | 10% fee rebate + new-user rewards | 20% off trading fees | No code yet | 20% off trading fees |
Data checked on November 8, 2026; the official page prevails. The exchange comparison page has a fee calculator and a country filter.
Reading the two together
Proof of reserves answers a narrow question: on that date, were balances in those coins covered? A protection fund answers another: who pays if there is a theft? Reading both, with the right date and the right coin, gives a more honest picture of risk than any single number.
For long-term holdings, a self-custody wallet takes the balance off the exchange; crypto wallet basics shows how. For anyone deciding to open an account, the referral code guides for Binance, Bitget and Gate explain what each code offers.
FAQ
What is proof of reserves in crypto?
It is a snapshot, on a given date, comparing the assets an exchange says it holds in wallets with what it owes users in each coin. A ratio above 100% means those balances were covered on that day.
Does a proof-of-reserves ratio above 100% mean an exchange is safe?
Not on its own. The figure does not show the company's debts, loans or anything that happens after the snapshot date. It is one indicator, not a guarantee.
What is the difference between proof of reserves and a protection fund?
Proof of reserves shows whether user balances are covered. A protection fund is a separate pool of money the exchange uses to pay for losses, such as a hack.
How do you check that your balance is included?
Some exchanges offer an in-account verification tool that confirms your balance was part of the calculation. Gate publishes an official course on this. If the page has no such option, individual checking is not possible.
Do these exchanges serve US or Canadian residents?
No. Binance, Bitget, Bybit and Gate all exclude the US and Canada in their terms, so this comparison is for readers elsewhere.
Content is for education only and is not investment advice. Crypto and stocks can lose value. Risk disclaimer · Affiliate disclosure