OKX Adds More Crypto, but Its Reserve Cushion Gets Thinner
OKX added thousands of Bitcoin to its reserves in August. Its excess coverage still got smaller.
Summary:
- Bitcoin coverage declined from 111% to 109% despite OKX adding 4,599 BTC to wallet assets.
- Ethereum ended the period with the narrowest excess coverage at 101%.
- Third-party custodians held 79,968 ETH, more than double the Aug. 11 amount.
The exchange reported 153,151 BTC in wallet assets on Sept. 8, up 4,599 BTC from Aug. 11. Customer holdings grew even faster, increasing by 5,466 BTC to 139,865 BTC. That pushed Bitcoin’s reserve ratio from 111% to 109%.
Ethereum and Tether show the same underlying dynamic. All three assets remained above 100% coverage, but customer balances expanded faster than their corresponding wallet assets.
The distinction turns OKX’s 47th proof-of-reserves report into something more useful than another disclosure of how many coins an exchange holds: reserves can rise while the margin above customer claims gets thinner.
5,466 BTC Changed the Math
Customer Bitcoin holdings increased 4.07% between Aug. 11 and Sept. 8. The wallet assets supporting them grew by approximately 3.10%.
That difference was enough to compress the excess coverage.
OKX reported 134,399 BTC in customer accounts and 148,552 BTC in wallets on Aug. 11. By Sept. 8, those figures had reached 139,865 BTC and 153,151 BTC, respectively.
The exchange therefore added Bitcoin, but not quite as quickly as its customers did.
At 109%, OKX reported roughly 1.09 BTC in wallet assets for every 1 BTC represented in customer balances. The previous report showed approximately 1.11 BTC.
Nothing in that movement indicates a reserve deficit. It instead illustrates why the absolute number of coins on an exchange tells only part of the story. The relationship between assets and customer claims can move in the opposite direction.
Ethereum Is Running With the Smallest Margin
The September figures leave three noticeably different levels of reported coverage:
- Bitcoin: 139,865 BTC in customer holdings against 153,151 BTC in wallet assets, with coverage at 109%, down from 111%.
- Ether: 1.786 million ETH against 1.796 million ETH, leaving just 101% coverage.
- USDT: 8.49 billion tokens against roughly 8.95 billion USDT, with the ratio at 105%, down from 106%.
Those percentages are not a safety ranking. A higher ratio does not automatically make one asset safer, while ETH sitting at 101% does not establish a liquidity or solvency problem.
What 101% does tell readers is that ETH currently has considerably less reported excess coverage than BTC or USDT. That makes its movement in the next report particularly informative.
More of OKX’s Ether Is Sitting Outside the Exchange
The headline ratios also conceal a shift in where some of the assets are held.
OKX reported 79,968 ETH under third-party custody on Sept. 8, compared with 36,491 ETH on Aug. 11. The third-party component therefore increased by more than 43,000 ETH in less than a month.
Bitcoin’s reserve structure included 6,792 BTC held through third parties, while the equivalent USDT figure stood at approximately 135.6 million tokens.
OKX separates those balances from assets held directly by the exchange and directs users to the relevant custodians for independent verification.
READ MORE: Tether’s $550M Iran Freeze Exposes Stablecoins’ Sanctions Chokepoint
For Ether, the change is particularly notable because the increase in third-party holdings accounts for much of the movement in the composition of reported reserves.
It introduces another variable worth following. Reserve coverage tells users how reported assets compare with customer holdings.
Custody composition shows where those assets actually sit.
zk-STARKs Do Not Turn PoR Into a Balance Sheet
OKX uses zk-STARK v2 to let customers verify that their balances were incorporated into its proof-of-reserves liabilities without publicly exposing individual account information. The exchange also publishes wallet information that can be checked against the assets it reports.
That gives proof of reserves a specific purpose: demonstrating the relationship between identifiable crypto assets and corresponding customer balances at a given verification date.
It is not a substitute for audited financial statements.
PoR does not, by itself, provide a complete account of an exchange’s corporate liabilities, operating cash flows, capital structure or every obligation outside the balances included in the calculation.
That boundary is important here because a move from 111% to 109% can easily sound more dramatic than the underlying data supports.
The September figures show a smaller BTC cushion, not disappearing Bitcoin. OKX’s reported wallet holdings actually increased.
The Next Report Has a More Interesting Test
The usual proof-of-reserves question is whether coverage remains above 100%. OKX currently clears that threshold across BTC, ETH and USDT.
The more revealing question for the next report is what happens to the gap above it.
If customer holdings continue expanding faster than wallet assets, the reserve ratios could compress further even while OKX continues adding crypto. If reserve growth accelerates instead, those cushions could widen again.
Ether adds another dimension because its reported margin is already considerably narrower and a larger amount is now held through third-party custodians.
That gives the next disclosure three moving parts worth comparing: customer growth, excess coverage and custody composition.
OKX’s September report is therefore not notable because the exchange holds less crypto. It doesn’t.
It is notable because OKX holds more, while the distance between what it holds and what customers hold has become smaller.
The information presented in this article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or trading advice. Coinspress.com does not promote or advocate for any particular investment strategy, asset, or cryptocurrency project. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and unpredictable – always perform your own research and seek guidance from a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Alexander Zdravkov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alexander Zdravkov is a market analyst and crypto journalist with interests in economics, broader financial markets and digital assets. His journey into crypto began more than four years ago, driven by a fascination with the rapid evolution of blockchain technology and the transformative potential of decentralized finance. He began analyzing market cycles and identifying emerging trends before they reach the mainstream. He holds a degree in International Relations - a background that helped shape his broader perspective on global economics, geopolitics, and the interconnected nature of modern financial markets. Whether covering the latest developments in the crypto sector or exploring broader macroeconomic themes, Alexander focuses on giving readers context rather than simply repeating headlines. During his career, he has authored more than 10,000 articles covering cryptocurrencies, traditional finance, and global market developments. His work spans everything from Bitcoin and altcoins to macroeconomic trends influencing risk assets worldwide.
