Audit Highlights Overcollateralization and Transparency
Cryptocurrency exchange MEXC today released the results of its first Proof of Reserves (PoR) audit, conducted by blockchain cybersecurity firm Hacken. This audit, a result of a new partnership between MEXC and Hacken, confirmed that the exchange holds sufficient assets to cover all user liabilities fully. The report emphasizes that MEXC continues to prioritize overcollateralized holdings and transparent reporting as fundamental aspects of its operational framework.
Independent PoR reporting has become increasingly rare across the exchange sector. Many large trading platforms have shifted to internal dashboards or discontinued PoR audits altogether. For instance, Binance stopped external audits after Mazars halted cooperation in 2022. Other exchanges like OKX, Bybit, and Kraken provide internal cryptographic proofs or attestations instead of independent audits. KuCoin offers an internal PoR dashboard, while Coinbase, despite being a publicly audited listed company, does not publish PoR reports.
In contrast, the Hacken audit of MEXC offers a full-scope assessment of the exchange’s on-chain and off-exchange liabilities. This assessment covers wallet ownership, reserve ratios, and user obligations across a broad range of networks. According to the audit’s findings, 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 proofs 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. This feature enables 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.
MEXC's Commitment to Enhanced Transparency
The Hacken audit forms a crucial part of MEXC’s ongoing initiative to enhance 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 continuous solvency verification. In its announcement, MEXC 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 commented on the audit, stating that it reflects a 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, highlighted that 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.
The Importance of Independent Proof of Reserves
While Proof of Reserves do not capture every element of exchange risk, independent verification of asset ownership and liabilities is one of the few available tools 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 this environment, comprehensive audits such as Hacken’s provide valuable data points that remain scarce across the market.