BitMart reserve doubts raise custody concerns: Arch CTO
BitMart‘s missing proof-of-reserves report and withdrawal complaints from two crypto projects have raised fresh questions about how customer assets are held during the exchange’s wind-down. BitMart concerns expose verification problem Arch Lending co-founder and CTO Himanshu Sahay said questions about withdrawals and exchange closures expose the difference between assurances offered by a platform and financial information that customers can independently check. “Whenever questions arise around withdrawal processing or exchange wind-downs, it points to a structural gap across digital asset markets: the difference between platform-level statements and independent verification,” Sahay said in a statement to crypto.news. Customers often have no real-time method for establishing whether an exchange holds their assets in segregated accounts or combines them with funds used for other operations, according to the executive. Uncertainty increases when withdrawals slow because customers must rely on the same company processing their requests for information about its financial condition. Sahay said the crypto industry already has tools that can reduce such uncertainty, including third-party custodians, reserve attestations, and strict asset segregation. Their value depends on whether customers can use them to verify solvency claims before operational problems emerge. “This isnt a new issue, but a recurring one that resurfaces whenever a platform faces operational stress.” BitMart stated in May