Since the events that shook the crypto industry last year, this industry has faced one of its biggest challenges: adhering to regulation, performing audits and proving its solvency through more robust ways than solely a convincing speech. Although Bitso is already regulated and licensed, we listened to what our customers were asking and committed to provide a proof that matters that can be verified frequently.
We could have undergone the traditional path: to hire a trusted third-party to audit our books, documents, contracts and sheets, but such a method doesn’t meet the high standards of data protection that we’re used to. A solvency report generated quarterly isn’t enough to prove an organization’s financial health. Instead, we decided to leverage the cryptographic technology to enable our customers to verify our solvency on a monthly basis.
Now, we’re thrilled to announce that we’re launching the Proof that Matters: thanks to our alliance with Proven, a cryptographic startup that developed an innovative Proof of Solvency solution, you can now verify Bitso’s solvency in bitcoin and ether via Zero-knowledge technology with monthly reports that you can download directly from your profile.
We’re really proud of being one of the first companies globally to integrate Proven’s Zero Knowledge Proof. This proof allows us to develop and validate the integrity of the customers’ funds without seeking the approval of a third party to gain trust.
What is a Proof of Solvency?
It is the result of both the Proof of Reserves and the Proof of Liabilities with reliable mechanisms to validate that the total amount of assets held in custody is equal or larger than the total amount of liabilities. Additionally, in case the custodian holds reserves in cryptocurrencies, it is also required to prove ownership over the keys to the accounts where the funds are. You can learn more in our blog post The Proof that Matters.
What is a Zero-Knowledge proof?
A Zero-Knowledge proof, also known as zk-proof, is a technique that uses mathematical models and cryptographic protocols to prove that certain statement without ever revealing its content.
For a zk-proof to be effective, It must satisfy three principles:
- Completeness: the proof must be verifiable.
- Soundness: the proof must be incorruptible.
- Zero-knowledge: the proof must be sealed.
To make things easier, think of a zk-proof as a sealed envelope that nobody can open except for its owner. The owner can prove to anyone that the information inside the envelope is true by using a specific protocol, known as zk-SNARK. When a verifier runs that same protocol, they can confirm that the envelope contains the information it was said to contain without opening it.
For the time being, Bitso’s Proof that Matters only includes bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), but we’re committed to include more crypto listed in Bitso to the Proof that Matters in the future.
Learn more about Proven’s Zero Knowledge Proof here.
How to access the Proof that Matters?
If you’re already a Bitso customers, you can access the latest solvency reports by following these steps:
- Go to Bitso.com in your browser
- Log in to your account
- Go to the menu in the upper right corner
- Select Profile
- In the left navigation bar, select Proof that Matters
You can also visit this article on our Help Center to learn more about how to download the report and how you can interpret all the information on it.
