Crypto Quill

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has released its latest proof of reserves report, showing that it holds more than enough assets to cover all user funds. The report also reveals the changes in its holdings of various cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether. Meanwhile, two emerging projects, Celestia and InQubeta, are attracting excited investors with their innovative solutions and potential returns.

Binance’s Proof of Reserves: A Sign of Transparency and Security

Binance published its 13th proof of reserves report on December 1, 2023, conducted by Mazars, a global auditing firm. The report provides a snapshot of Binance’s reserves as of January 1, 2024, at 00:00 UTC, divided by major cryptocurrencies. The report aims to demonstrate Binance’s transparency and security, as well as to assure users that their funds are safe on the platform.

According to the report, Binance’s net assets exceed its customers’ net balance for all listed cryptocurrencies, indicating a reserve ratio of more than 100%. This means that Binance has enough liquidity and solvency to cover any potential customer withdrawals, even in the event of market volatility or external shocks.

The report also shows the breakdown of Binance’s reserves for each cryptocurrency, revealing some interesting changes in its holdings. For example, Binance reported a decrease of 4.05% month-over-month (MOM) in its Bitcoin assets, amounting to a reduction of 23,656 BTC, bringing the total holdings to approximately 561,000 BTC. This could be due to the increased demand for Bitcoin from institutional and retail investors, as well as the launch of the first Bitcoin futures ETFs in the US.

On the other hand, Binance’s Ethereum and Binance Coin holdings saw a modest decrease of 0.67% and 0.32% respectively, suggesting a relatively stable holding pattern for these major cryptocurrencies. Binance’s Tether and Binance USD holdings, however, experienced a significant increase of 5.67% and 6.81% respectively, translating to an additional 866 million USDT and 139 million BUSD, raising the total holdings to 16.1 billion USDT and 2.2 billion BUSD. This could be due to the increased use of stablecoins for trading and hedging purposes, as well as the growing adoption of Binance USD as a regulated and compliant stablecoin.

Celestia and InQubeta: Two Projects to Watch in 2024

While Binance continues to dominate the crypto exchange market, some new projects are emerging in the crypto space, offering innovative solutions and attracting excited investors. Two of these projects are Celestia and InQubeta, which have shown impressive growth and potential in the past few months.

Celestia is a modular blockchain that aims to solve the scalability and security issues of monolithic blockchains, such as Ethereum and Solana. Celestia uses a data availability and consensus layer that allows other modular chains to leverage its network for fast and secure data transmission. Celestia also employs data availability sampling (DAS), a technique that verifies the availability of data on a blockchain without downloading it. Celestia claims that it can offer one gigabyte blocks in the near future, providing abundant data availability for the ecosystem.

Celestia launched its mainnet beta in November 2023, following a successful airdrop of its native token, TIA, to around 580,000 users. The on-chain value of the airdrop was estimated to be $120 million, making it one of the largest airdrops in crypto history. Celestia also received $55 million in funding from prominent investors, such as Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain Capital, and Coinbase Ventures. Celestia’s TIA token has been performing well in the market, reaching a high of $8.50 on January 15, 2024, up from $0.20 at the time of the airdrop.

InQubeta is a crypto crowdfunding platform that facilitates fractional investment in AI startups. InQubeta leverages the power of blockchain and NFTs to create a unique and secure investment environment for both AI startups and investors. InQubeta allows AI startups to raise funds and offer reward and equity-based NFTs, while enabling investors to invest in projects they believe in with any budget. InQubeta also provides a range of services to AI startups, such as mentorship, incubation, and acceleration.

InQubeta is currently in its presale phase, offering its native token, QUBE, at a discounted price. QUBE is a deflationary ERC20 token that features a 2% buy and sell tax directed to a burning wallet and a 5% buy and sell tax allocated to a dedicated reward pool. QUBE holders can benefit from staking their tokens and receiving rewards, as well as participating in the governance of the platform. InQubeta has already attracted over 10,000 investors and raised over $20 million in its presale. InQubeta plans to launch its platform and NFT marketplace in February 2024, with a target of supporting over 100 AI startups in its first year.