I didn’t find Binance Square the way most people claim they did, It actually started with a tweet.
I was scrolling, half bored, half curious, when I came across YellowPanther’s post on X. You know those tweets that don’t try too hard, but still make you pause? That was it. He was talking about Binance Square; not as some shiny new feature, but as a place where conversations actually happen. Real takes. Real builders. Real learners.
Anyway, I ended up on Binance Square, and there was this post about something that happened back in 2022 that I’d completely missed; the moment when Binance actually proved they had everyone’s money.
The Story Nobody Talks About Enough
You remember FTX collapsing in November 2022, right? That whole disaster where billions just… vanished? Everyone was freaking out. People were pulling funds from every exchange, convinced they were all running the same scam. The fear was real.
I was terrified too. I had most of my savings on Binance, and I remember thinking, “Am I about to lose everything?”
But here’s what I learned from that Binance Square rabbit hole: while other exchanges were going radio silent or making excuses, Binance did something nobody expected. CZ (Changpeng Zhao) announced they were going to publish Proof of Reserves and not just once, but on a recurring basis.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Proof of Reserves, big deal.” But stick with me.
On December 7, 2022, Binance published their first full Proof of Reserves report, audited by Mazars (a legitimate global accounting firm). The report showed they held 101% of Bitcoin deposits, meaning they actually had more BTC than users had deposited. For Ethereum, it was 103%. For USDT, 104%.
Let that sink in.
Why This Hit Different for Me
Reading about this on Binance Square made me realize something embarrassing: I’d been in crypto for two years and had never once checked whether the exchange holding my money could actually… you know… give it back. It’s like keeping your money in a bank and never checking if the bank is solvent. Wild.
But here’s what really got me: Binance could have done what many others did. They could have stayed vague, made promises, relied on marketing. The minimum effort. Instead, they opened their books and invited scrutiny. Why? Because when you’re running a real business and not a Ponzi scheme, transparency is your best defense.
There’s a quote from CZ around that time that stuck with me: “Banks know how much money they hold. Binance knows how much crypto we hold. This should not be a secret.” (Source: Binance official blog, December 2022)
When you put it that way, it feels obvious.
The Part That Changed My Whole Approach
As I kept reading on Binance Square, I noticed something different. People weren’t reacting emotionally; they were breaking down reports, asking smart questions, and actually analyzing data.
One post that stood out to me explained how Binance maintains a 1:1 reserve ratio for customer deposits plus an emergency buffer. These reports are updated monthly. On top of that, Binance built a Merkle Tree verification system that allows users to verify that their specific balances are included in the reserves.
You can literally go to Binance’s website, grab your account hash, and confirm your funds are part of the reserves. How many exchanges let you do that?
The Bigger Picture I Was Missing
After FTX, the entire industry had to grow up. Regulators started paying attention. Users got smarter. And Binance was already ahead of the curve because transparency had been baked into their infrastructure.
Today, Binance is the largest crypto exchange in the world by trading volume, handling an estimated $76 trillion in trades in 2024, according to CoinGecko. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when people trust you with their money; and you don’t betray that trust.
I’m not saying Binance is perfect, and I’m definitely not saying you should blindly trust anyone. That’s actually the opposite of what I learned. The point is this: the tools are there. The information is there. You just have to use it.
Why I’m Telling You This
Because I see people making the same mistakes I made. Chasing pumps. Ignoring fundamentals. Trusting blindly instead of verifying. And when something goes wrong, they’re shocked; like it came out of nowhere. But the warning signs were always there. The information was always available.
If you’re reading this and you have funds on any exchange, Binance or otherwise; go check if they publish Proof of Reserves. If they don’t, ask yourself why. And maybe consider moving your funds somewhere that does.
It’s not sexy advice. It won’t make you rich overnight. But it might save you from losing everything when the next crisis hits.Because there will be another crisis. There always is. And when it comes, you want to be on the platform that’s been preparing for it all along, not the one hoping it never happens.
Sources for the curious:
CZ’s December 2022 transparency announcement (Binance official blog)
Binance 2024 trading volume data via CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap
Mazars Proof of Reserves audit reports (December 2022–November 2023)
That one tweet from YellowPanther on X led me to Binance Square and from there, to actually understanding everything I’ve talked about here. Sometimes the best investments aren’t the coins you buy, but the time you spend educating yourself.
Your turn. Go check those reserves.
