as reported by market outlets on each date. Bitcoin\u2019s price changes by the second, so check a live chart for the current rate.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nThe November 6 drop is worth separating from the hack. Market commentators tied that day\u2019s move to a sell-off in AI and tech shares and talk of tougher US oversight, and about <\/span>$1.25 billion<\/b> in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to 28 (\u201cFear\u201d) that day, down from 50 a day earlier.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat Is a Cold-Storage Ratio, and Why Are Exchanges Publishing It Now?<\/b><\/h2>\nA cold-storage ratio is the percentage of customer crypto an exchange keeps in offline wallets. The rest sits in <\/span>hot wallets<\/b>, which stay connected so withdrawals can go out quickly. Hot wallets are convenient, but they\u2019re also what attackers target.<\/span><\/p>\nThe October attack hit exactly that layer. Binance CEO Richard Teng said the <\/span>\u201cvast majority\u201d <\/span><\/i>of user assets were held in cold wallets, and in a November 3 post on X he wrote that <\/span>\u201cno user bears the loss.\u201d <\/span><\/i>Even so, a theft measured in billions pushed rivals and regulators to put numbers on the table.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/nftplazas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Richard-Teng-said-about-Binance-hack.jpg\")
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South Korea already had a rule. Exchanges there must keep at least <\/span>80%<\/b> of customer digital assets in cold storage, and the country\u2019s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) collects the figures.<\/span><\/p>\nWhich Exchanges Have Disclosed Their Cold-Storage Ratios?<\/b><\/h2>\nAt least three large global exchanges and five Korean won-based exchanges have published figures. They range from just above the Korean minimum to more than 99%.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n| Exchange (as described in disclosures)<\/b><\/td>\n | Cold storage share<\/b><\/td>\n | Date of figure<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| Large US-listed exchange<\/span><\/td>\n | More than 99% of customer assets<\/span><\/td>\n | Blog post, November 4<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| South Korea\u2019s largest exchange<\/span><\/td>\n | 99.17%<\/span><\/td>\n | End of September (FSS)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| Second-largest Korean exchange<\/span><\/td>\n | 94.76%<\/span><\/td>\n | End of September (FSS)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| Global exchange (security page)<\/span><\/td>\n | More than 95% of client crypto<\/span><\/td>\n | Updated September 18<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| Global exchange launching a \u201cProof of Security\u201d report<\/span><\/td>\n | 88.26% of total assets<\/span><\/td>\n | November 5<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| Three smaller Korean exchanges<\/span><\/td>\n | 85%, 82.79% and 80.54%<\/span><\/td>\n | End of September (FSS)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Figures as reported by each exchange or by South Korea\u2019s FSS. We\u2019ve described exchanges by type rather than name.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nOne disclosure went further than a single percentage. On November 5, the exchange reporting 88.26%, Gate launched a framework it calls <\/span>Proof of Security (PoSEC)<\/b>. A standard proof-of-reserves report shows that an exchange holds enough coins to match customer balances. PoSEC adds a stress test: it shows how those assets are split between hot and cold wallets, and whether cold storage alone could repay customers if every hot wallet were drained.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Gate](\"https:\/\/nftplazas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Gate-Proof-of-Security-.jpg\") <\/p>\n
Gate\u2019s answer was <\/span>104.58%<\/b>, meaning its cold reserves would still cover all customer assets in that worst case. In its words, \u201cPoSEC provides visibility into asset storage structures and their ability to cover potential losses under extreme scenarios.\u201d By our math, the two figures together imply total platform assets of roughly <\/span>118%<\/b> of customer balances, since 104.58 \u00f7 88.26 \u2248 1.18. The data was still being reviewed by a third-party audit firm when it was published, so treat it as self-reported for now.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat Does Bitcoin Cold Storage Mean in Dollar Terms?<\/b><\/h2>\nThe dollar exposure depends on two things: the hot-wallet share and the Bitcoin price on the day you check. To make the ratios concrete, we modeled a hypothetical exchange holding <\/span>50,000 BTC<\/b> for its customers, valued at <\/span>$75,620 per coin<\/b> (November 6, 04:00 UTC). At that price, the whole pile is worth about <\/span>$3.78 billion<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n| Hot-wallet share<\/b><\/td>\n | BTC online<\/b><\/td>\n | Dollar value on November 6<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| 0.83% (99.17% cold)<\/span><\/td>\n | 415 BTC<\/span><\/td>\n | About $31.4 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| 1% (99% cold)<\/span><\/td>\n | 500 BTC<\/span><\/td>\n | About $37.8 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| 5% (95% cold)<\/span><\/td>\n | 2,500 BTC<\/span><\/td>\n | About $189 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| 11.74% (88.26% cold)<\/span><\/td>\n | 5,870 BTC<\/span><\/td>\n | About $444 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| 20% (Korea\u2019s 80% minimum)<\/span><\/td>\n | 10,000 BTC<\/span><\/td>\n | About $756 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Our calculation: BTC online \u00d7 $75,620.19.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nThe price matters as much as the percentage. Take the <\/span>18,270 BTC<\/b> that blockchain trackers say the attacker still controls. At <\/span>$80,564<\/b> on November 5, those coins were worth about <\/span>$1.47 billion<\/b>. At <\/span>$75,620<\/b> the next morning, they were worth about <\/span>$1.38 billion<\/b>, a swing of roughly <\/span>$90 million<\/b> without a single coin moving.<\/span><\/p>\n | | | | | | | | | | | | |