The proof-of-reserves feature on cryptocurrency exchange HTX, formerly known as Huobi, was abruptly disabled.
This observation was noted today by popular fintech analyst Adam Cochran, Managing Partner at Cinneamhain Ventures. This development coincides with issues faced by the stablecoin TrueUSD (TUSD), reportedly linked to HTX stakeholder Justin Sun, struggling to stay aligned with its intended $1 value for over two weeks.
Cochran also noted that live data from DefiLlama showed that HTX only had $120 million in ETH holdings, although the latest audit reported nearly $300 million.
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Their live reporting on DefiLlama shows only about $120M in ETH assets despite their last audit claiming closer to $300M in raw ETH. pic.twitter.com/JFBqADzq27
— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) January 26, 2024
Earlier, HTX’s proof-of-reserves webpage displayed no information regarding the exchange’s cryptocurrency holdings. Key data, including reserve ratios, wallet balances, and user asset totals, were temporarily absent from the page. Although the page has since been restored, the timing of this brief downtime is questionable, particularly in light of the ongoing challenges surrounding TUSD.
This incident follows heightened scrutiny of TUSD, particularly concerning its purported lack of full backing. Since Jan. 7th, TUSD’s trading value has dipped below the $1 mark, as reported by CoinMarketCap.
Concerns intensified earlier in the month when TrueUSD could not present timely attestations verifying that it held adequate U.S. dollar reserves to back the stablecoin. This lapse in transparency fueled conjectures about the possibility of TrueUSD being under-collateralized.
