Bybit users hold more Bitcoin and Ethereum as USDT drops 11%

Bybit has reported $19.6 billion in mainstream assets in its 40th proof-of-reserves report, with user Bitcoin and Ether balances rising while USDT holdings fell sharply from the previous snapshot.

Bybit reported the figures using a snapshot taken at 03:00 UTC on Sept. 23. The exchange listed 56,131 BTC in user assets against 58,721 BTC held in wallets, giving Bitcoin a reserve ratio of 104%. The report was independently reviewed by Hacken.

Ethereum user holdings reached 551,868 ETH, while wallet assets stood at 570,018 ETH. The resulting reserve ratio increased to 103% from 102% in an earlier report. Bybit said every one of the 50 tokens covered by its current disclosure had reserves equal to or above user balances.

Bybit Bitcoin and Ethereum user holdings increased

Bitcoin balances held for users rose 0.24% from the Aug. 26 snapshot to roughly 56,100 BTC. Despite the increase in customer holdings, Bybit’s Bitcoin reserve ratio remained at 104%.

Ether recorded a larger change, with user holdings rising 2.96% to nearly 551,900 ETH. Bybit reported 570,018 ETH in wallets against those customer balances, lifting the reserve ratio by one percentage point to 103%.

The latest figures follow earlier changes in exchange balances during 2026. In June, Bybit and OKX users increased their Bitcoin holdings while USDT balances declined, with Bybit’s BTC user assets reaching 49,309 BTC at the time.

Comparing that June figure with the Sept. 23 snapshot shows Bybit now reporting more than 6,800 additional BTC in user assets. Proof-of-reserves data cannot determine whether individual users bought Bitcoin, transferred it onto the exchange or changed their holdings for another reason.

Why did USDT holdings fall in Bybit’s reserve report?

USDT moved in the opposite direction. User holdings declined 11.46% from the previous report to roughly 3.59 billion USDT, making it the clearest decrease among the major assets in the latest snapshot.

Bybit still reported around 3.96 billion USDT in wallet holdings. The amount was approximately 364 million tokens above reported user balances, producing a reserve ratio of 110%, up from the 105% ratio reported in July.

The decline in user USDT balances does not show where the tokens went or whether customers moved money into Bitcoin, Ether or other assets. A proof-of-reserves report records balances at one point in time and does not track the reason behind individual customer transactions.

USDe showed a very different pattern in the month-to-month data. User balances increased 62.41% to roughly 516 million tokens in the latest snapshot, while USDT holdings fell by double digits.

Bybit’s USDC reserve ratio was even higher. The report showed approximately 334.8 million USDC in user assets against $748.3 million in wallet holdings, giving the stablecoin a 223% reserve ratio.

A reserve ratio above 100% means the reported assets held in Bybit-controlled wallets exceeded the corresponding customer liabilities included in that snapshot. It does not mean customers earn the percentage difference.

Bybit’s proof of reserves now tracks 50 tokens

The September report covers Bybit’s 50 highest-AUM tokens. SUI, PUMP, LIT, CAP, SPX, ZEREBRO, XPL, USDTB, PENGU and ZRO joined the current disclosure set, with reserve ratios for the ten assets ranging from 101% to 125%.

XPL had the highest reserve ratio among that group at 125%, followed by LIT at 121%. Bybit said it selects assets for the report based on the amount held by users on its platform.

The change should not be described as Bybit simply increasing its coverage from 40 to 50 tokens in September. Bybit had already announced 50-token coverage in its July report after adding GRAM, XAUT, HYPE, STABLE, ENA, ARB, ASTER, ONDO, AAVE and USD1.

The September release instead lists a different group of ten assets entering the current 50-token set. For that reason, the rise in reported mainstream assets from $18.1 billion in August to $19.6 billion should not automatically be attributed to an expansion from 40 to 50 covered tokens.

Users can check whether their balances were included

Bybit uses a Merkle-tree system to let customers verify whether their own balances formed part of the liabilities used in a proof-of-reserves snapshot.

The exchange explains that users can view their Merkle path through their account or use its open-source verification code. Each customer balance is represented within the Merkle structure without publishing other customers’ individual account data.

Bybit separately publishes wallet addresses so users can examine the assets held against reported liabilities. The exchange provides tools for checking wallet ownership and balances across supported blockchains.

Hacken provides an independent review of Bybit’s recurring reports. As crypto.news previously examined in its comparison of exchange proof-of-reserves practices, Bybit combines recurring reserve disclosures, proof of liabilities, wallet-ownership checks and third-party verification.

Proof of reserves remains a point-in-time test and is not the same as a full financial audit of an exchange. The report verifies covered customer liabilities against specified reserve assets but does not provide a complete assessment of every corporate liability, obligation or asset outside the disclosed scope.

Bybit began publishing proof-of-reserves reports in December 2022. Its latest snapshot comes more than a year after the February 2025 security breach, when roughly $1.46 billion in Ether-related assets were stolen from the exchange.

Following that attack, Hacken verified that Bybit had restored at least 1:1 backing across the assets covered by its February 2025 reserve report within 72 hours.

More recently, Bybit secured U.S. court support for efforts to trace funds from the 2025 hack, with court orders allowing the exchange to seek information from U.S.-linked platforms as part of its recovery effort.