WOO Network launches first-of-its-kind live self-reporting dashboard aimed at making crypto exchanges more transparent
In a proactive response to calls for transparency among digital assets exchanges, WOO Network has today launched a real-time reporting of its assets and liabilities - the first in this industry. WOO Network’s transparency dashboard, http://woo.org/proof-of-reserves/, includes live data reporting that updates every 15 mins, proof of assets and where they are held, information on liabilities, and additional information related to transparency.
In coming up with the dashboard, WOO Network also analyzed other centralized exchanges (CEXs) including WOO X, to check for the transparency features that users are looking for. According to its study, not all the top 50 exchanges are confident to display their books.
Various solutions have been put forward after the FTX collapse, but many solutions including proof of reserves fall short of establishing consumer trust. To compare, proof of reserves is the equivalent of a bank showing how much capital they have, but not showing how much they owe to clients and to others.
Audited records are an important part of the push for greater transparency but have limitations in isolation. WOO Network believes that the value of the auditors is greater when they can also verify methodologies and identify whether inputs are accurate. As of today, many auditors still lack the knowledge to evaluate cryptocurrency exchanges fully.
In formulating the dashboard, Jack Tan, Co-founder of WOO Network described WOO X as much more than a simple exchange with its ability to aggregate liquidity from top trading venues and provide this liquidity at lower fees, through well-vetted and diversified holdings on other liquidity venues.
“We arrived at this solution by coming up with a wishlist for what we want to see from other exchanges. So we are holding ourselves to the same standard and being the first to act with this type of radical transparency and live data. Our transparency dashboard is just one of the steps towards our goal of making CeFi more transparent than traditional banks and financial institutions,” Tan noted.
WOO X took the following approach to maximize transparency and timeliness, aided by on-chain proofs wherever possible:
- Real-time, verifiable information on assets and liabilities
- Over-collateralization of assets to liabilities to act as a buffer
- Users are entitled to the benefits of senior creditors to the extent of applicable laws
- External auditing and verification of completeness and accuracy of the methodology
- Conservative and diversified holdings on liquidity venues such as Binance and OKX
- Embracing DeFi and non-custodial trading as a fundamental solution to counterparty risk
“The practice of using market-makers and other venues to enhance liquidity is widely used but has never been particularly transparent until now. From job postings for internal market-makers by CEXes to the contract fine print enabling the rehypothecation of client assets on Wall Street, this is a trend of opacity that originated in traditional finance and has crossed over into crypto. Going forward, users need to know how much risk is taken with their assets and which venues are being used, an area in which we are now leading the way.”
On top of the live dashboard, Tan said WOO Network’s Terms of Services ensure that users are entitled to the benefits of the senior creditors to the extent acceptable under the law. This legal language is crucial for determining the safety and retrieval of users’ funds in the worst-case scenario.
WOO Network is working to implement Merkle Tree proof to verify all WOO X user assets are accounted for in liability calculations. Merkle Trees allow users to cryptographically verify that their balances are included in the complete snapshot of liabilities. Moreover, WOO Network aims to complete a financial audit by a reputable, independent third party to verify the data reported is accurate and complete.
How transparent are centralized exchanges? Not all are excited to display their books.
Not all the top 50 exchanges are excited to display their books. As covered in various media, crypto holders wanted to make sure that the information that they get is always updated, and covers both assets and liabilities. They also said that having a Merkle-tree proof of reserve would be the closest to being a transparent exchange.
WOO Network looked at the top 50 exchanges on CoinMarketCap and checked their websites and Twitter accounts for their statements about proof of reserves, looking for what traders use as a gauge of transparency. The analysis also included WOO X’s dashboard in this informal survey.
Out of the 51 exchanges surveyed, only 18 including Binance, OKX, and WOO X have proof of reserves statements that can be found either on their websites or Twitter posts. A few of those 18 exchanges have a dedicated page that talks about their proof of reserves while some posted the information directly on their Twitter pages.
Only 5 exchanges are providing live data. For example, WOO X updates its proof of reserves page every 15 minutes. Others such as Kraken, Korbit, and Phemex also update their page regularly at different times of the day. Out of 18 exchanges that have shown their proof of reserves, seven have also displayed their liabilities, including WOO X.
The survey was conducted on December 4, 2022.
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WOO X is a trading platform for professional traders, featuring fully customizable modules, and lower to zero-fee trading complete with deep liquidity sourced from the WOO Network, which connects traders, exchanges, institutions, and DeFi platforms. The WOO Token is used in the network’s CeFi and DeFi products for staking and fee discounts. WOO Network was incubated by Kronos Research, a multi-strategy trading firm that specializes in market making, arbitrage, CTA, and high-frequency trading (HFT).
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