Exchanges

Volume is the easiest number in crypto to inflate, so this table ranks venues on whether you can verify that your balance exists. Fully on-chain venues sit at the top by construction; among centralised venues, a self-verifiable Merkle proof beats a periodic attestation.

Venues tracked

Publish a Merkle proof

Fully on-chain

A licence tells you who supervises the company, not whether your balance is safe. Non-custodial protocols show "None" because no operating licence exists for them — that is a different risk profile, not a worse one. Sources are linked on each venue's own licence page.

Exchanges compared on reserve transparency and dollar liquidity
								Go
CurveThe reference on-chain venue for stablecoin-to-stablecoin depth.DEX1 incident	Fully on-chain	None — non-custodial	USDC, USDT, DAI, crvUSD, FRAX	On-chain	None — on-chain only	Pool-specific, typically 0.01–0.04% on stable pools	Yes	Open
UniswapLargest DEX overall and the deepest venue for long-tail dollar tokens.DEX	Fully on-chain	None — non-custodial	USDC, USDT, DAI	On-chain	None — on-chain only	0.01–1.00% per pool tier	Yes	Open
HyperliquidOn-chain perp venue where USDC is the sole margin asset.DEX1 incident	Fully on-chain	None — non-custodial	USDC	On-chain	None — on-chain only	0.01% / 0.035%	No	Open
BinanceLargest venue by stablecoin volume; USDT and FDUSD are the dominant quote assets.Centralised1 incident	Merkle proof	EU (MiCA CASP) · Dubai (VARA) · Japan (JFSA) · Australia (AUSTRAC)	USDT, FDUSD, USDC	Multiple, no single home regulator	SEPA, Local rails in supported markets	0.10% / 0.10% base, lower with BNB and volume	No	Open
KrakenDeep fiat pairs and one of the few venues with a real cryptographic reserve audit.Centralised	Merkle proof	US (FinCEN MSB) · EU (MiCA CASP) · UK (FCA) · Australia (AUSTRAC)	USD, USDT, USDC, EUR	United States / EU	Fedwire, SEPA, SWIFT	0.16% / 0.26% base	Yes	Open
OKXLarge global venue with monthly reserve snapshots and strong derivatives depth.Centralised	Merkle proof	EU (MiCA CASP) · Dubai (VARA) · UK (FCA)	USDT, USDC	Seychelles with regional licences	SEPA, Local rails	0.08% / 0.10% base	No	Open
BybitDerivatives-led venue; the 2025 hot-wallet theft is the reference case for exchange custody risk.Centralised1 incident	Merkle proof	EU (MiCA CASP) · Dubai (VARA)	USDT, USDC	Dubai / global	Local rails via partners	0.02% / 0.055% derivatives	No	Open
CoinbaseUS-listed venue and the natural home for USDC liquidity.Centralised	Attestation	US (NYDFS) · US (FinCEN MSB) · EU (MiCA CASP) · UK (FCA)	USDC, USD, USDT	United States	ACH, Fedwire, SEPA	0.00–0.40% depending on tier	Yes	Open
BitstampOldest continuously operating European exchange, conservative asset listing.Centralised1 incident	Attestation	EU (MiCA CASP) · UK (FCA) · US (FinCEN MSB) · Singapore (MAS)	USD, EUR, USDC, USDT	Luxembourg / EU	SEPA, SWIFT, Faster Payments	0.30% base, tiered down	Yes	Open
GeminiNYDFS-regulated trust company and issuer of GUSD.Centralised1 incident	Attestation	US (NYDFS) · US (FinCEN MSB) · EU (MiCA CASP)	USD, GUSD, USDC	United States	ACH, Fedwire	0.20% / 0.40% base	Yes	Open

Reserve posture and incidents in detail

Binance

Publishes Merkle-tree proof of reserves users can verify against their own balance; liabilities are not independently audited.

· US settlement in 2023 with a monitorship and leadership change

Coinbase

Audited public-company financials rather than a Merkle proof; customer assets are segregated and disclosed in SEC filings.

Kraken

Merkle proof of reserves reviewed by an independent auditor — the strongest reserve posture among large CEXs.

OKX

Monthly Merkle-tree publications with a self-verification tool.

Bybit

Publishes Merkle-tree proofs; solvency was maintained through the 2025 incident, which is the point of holding excess reserves.

· 2025: roughly $1.5bn in ETH stolen from a cold-wallet transfer process; customer balances were made whole

Bitstamp

Third-party attestation rather than a self-verifiable proof.

· 2015 hot-wallet theft, fully covered by the company

Gemini

Trust-company structure with regular examinations; custody assets are held in trust.

· Earn programme losses in 2022 through a third-party lender, later resolved

Curve

Reserves are the pool contracts themselves — fully verifiable on-chain at any moment.

· 2023 Vyper compiler exploit affecting several pools; most funds returned

Uniswap

All liquidity is on-chain and independently verifiable.

Hyperliquid

Balances and the vault are visible on-chain in real time.

· 2025: a large manipulated position forced socialised losses on the liquidity vault

Exchanges, answered

+ Why rank exchanges on proof of reserves instead of volume?

Volume is the easiest number in crypto to inflate and tells you nothing about whether your balance exists. A Merkle-tree proof you can check against your own account is a weaker guarantee than a full audit, but it is the strongest thing most venues offer — and the venues offering nothing at all are making a choice.

+ What does proof of reserves not prove?

Liabilities. A venue can show it holds assets while owing more than it holds elsewhere. Reserves plus independently verified liabilities is solvency; reserves alone is a snapshot of one side of the balance sheet.

+ Why does the market maker page exist?

Because the peg is held by a small number of firms arbitraging it. When one of them steps back, spreads widen and depegs last longer. Knowing who quotes the dollar is part of knowing how fragile the dollar's on-chain price is.

Informational only, not financial advice. Terms, fees and availability change frequently — always verify on the provider's own site before committing funds. Some outbound links may be partner links; they never affect ranking or scoring.