Cryptocurrency exchange MEXC today released the results of the first Proof of Reserves (PoR) audit conducted by blockchain cybersecurity firm Hacken, as part of the company's new partnership. The report confirmed that the exchange holds sufficient assets to cover user liabilities fully and that it continues to prioritise overcollateralised holdings and transparent reporting as central pillars of its operational framework. Independent PoR reporting has become increasingly rare across the exchange sector, with many large trading platforms shifting to internal dashboards or discontinuing PoR audits. Binance stopped external audits after Mazars halted cooperation in 2022. OKX, Bybit, and Kraken provide internal cryptographic proofs or attestations rather than independent audits. KuCoin offers an internal PoR dashboard, and Coinbase, despite being publicly audited as a listed company, does not publish PoR at all. In contrast, the Hacken audit of MEXC offers a full-scope assessment of exchange’s on-chain and off-exchange liabilities covering wallet ownership, reserve ratios, and user obligations across a broad range of networks. According to the audit’s results, MEXC’s holdings in BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, and other supported assets exceeded 100% of its corresponding liabilities. The Hacken assessment also validated outbound transactional proofs, confirming MEXC’s cryptographic and operational control over the wallets included in the audit. These have become a standard for exchanges seeking to verify wallet ownership without relying solely on static snapshots.The audit also incorporated a Merkle-tree verification of liabilities, enabling users and auditors to anonymously confirm that their individual account balances are included in the total obligations assessed by the reviewer. This structure is widely regarded as one of the more transparent approaches to PoR because it provides a method for reconciling exchange-level liabilities with user-level entries. However, adoption has stalled in the past year due to technical and operational complexity. The Hacken audit forms part of MEXC’s push for greater operational transparency for its global user base. The exchange has expanded its reserve reporting practices throughout 2024 and 2025 to meet heightened expectations from users and regulators for ongoing solvency verification. In the announcement, the platform revealed that its updated Proof of Reserve framework provides a “fully auditable view” of user balances without exposing personal data by relying on anonymized snapshots mapped to publicly visible on-chain holdings. A spokesperson for Hacken stated that the audit reflects the broader shift toward verifiable transparency among crypto exchanges: “We’ve seen increased transparency demand in the crypto industry over the past year, and the results of MEXC’s audit reflect this shift. In an environment where trust is built only through verifiable data, MEXC demonstrates its willingness to operate transparently and back up its commitments with facts, not words”. MEXC COO Vugar Usi, who joined the exchange earlier this month , said transparency and solvency verification are becoming standard expectations for global crypto trading platforms. He added: “At MEXC, we are fully committed to transparency and security, and this report once again demonstrates our unwavering dedication to 100% user fund safety. Independent Proof of Reserves audits are now a continuous, core standard practice within our operational framework. We will continue working with established auditing firms such as Hacken to ensure our users have verifiable assurance that their assets are fully backed”. While Proof of Reserves do not capture every element of exchange risk, independent verification of asset ownership and liabilities is one of the few tools available for assessing solvency without relying solely on internal claims. Industry observers have long debated the need for standardized PoR frameworks, but progress has been uneven and often dependent on exchanges' voluntary participation. In that environment, comprehensive audits such as Hacken’s provide data points that remain scarce across the market. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
