$cbBTC Falls Short on Transparency and Proof of Reserves

Coinbase is one of the biggest centralized crypto exchanges in the world. It comes in third when measured by daily volume, with $1.6 billion. On CoinGecko, Coinbase scores a 10 for its ‘Trust’ score.

That’s because it has third-party audits. However, with its $cbBTC derivative, things look different. There’s no PoR (Proof of Reserve) or any other form of transparency. So, what’s going on the Coinbase’s $cbBTC?

What Is $cbBTC?

$cbBTC is a wrapped version of Bitcoin. It is an ERC-20 token, available in Ethereum and Base. There are plans to launch this token on more chains. Now, Coinbase should back this token 1:1 with $BTC they hold. And that’s where the issue arises.

Coinbase has no Proof of Reserves for this token. A Proof of Reserves is a public report, from an independent auditor. This report, it shows a platform’s reserves, so it can prove its solvency to its depositors. The X post below is from Oxngmi, the founder of DeFiLlama.

Almost every other wrapped version of $BTC has this PoR. In other words, you can see that $BTC backs the issued coins. This is reason enough for DeFiLlama to refrain from listing $cbBTC. The token only launched a few weeks ago, on 12th September. 

However, Coinbase has reacted to posts on X about the lack of PoR. In their post, they acknowledge the importance of Proof of Reserves. Furthermore, it reads that they planned PoR from the beginning. See the X post below.

Other Things to Consider

Coinbase’s lack of transparency is something to consider in this case, but there’s more. For example, Coinbase Trust Co. is a regulated financial institution. However, the service agreement for $cbBTC is with Coinbase, Inc. In contrast to Coinbase Trust Co, this is not a regulated financial institution.

In other words, when you deposit to Coinbase, Inc. your assets become Coinbase’s assets. So, in case Coinbase becomes insolvent, you can stand in line as a creditor if they go bankrupt. Even if your assets haven’t been lost.

On the other hand, $WBTC is held in a regulated Trust Co. This means that assets are bankruptcy protected. For example, if BitGo would become insolvent, your assets are still yours. BitGo is the custodian for $wBTC.

Another thing to consider is the freeze function. $wBTC doesn’t have a freeze function. However, $cbBTC does have a freeze function. Furthermore, $wBTC smart contracts are not changeable but $cbBTC smart contract are changeable. 

This means that Coinbase can freeze and blacklist addresses transacting with $cbBTC. They can do this straight via the smart contract. On the other hand, BitGo can’t do this.

Conclusion

On 12th September, Coinbase launched its $cbBTC token, which it should back 1:1 with its $BTC holdings. However, Coinbase doesn’t have Proof of Reserve for $cbBTC. This is a serious lack of transparency by Coinbase.

Coinbase can also freeze their derivative and change the smart contracts. Better be cautious when considering using $cbBTC until Coinbase at least offers a PoR.

$cbBTC

Disclaimer

The information discussed by Altcoin Buzz is not financial advice. This is for educational, entertainment, and informational purposes only. Any information or strategies are thoughts and opinions relevant to the accepted levels of risk tolerance of the writer/reviewers, and their risk tolerance may be different from yours.

We are not responsible for any losses you may incur due to any investments directly or indirectly related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments, so please do your due diligence.

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