CertiK: Recommends that crypto trading platforms set a hard USD holding cap for hot wallets.

November 10 — The CertiK research team stated that crypto trading platforms should not rely solely on the proportion of assets held in cold wallets to measure security, but should also set clear USD holding limits for hot wallets. This recommendation comes in the wake of an attack on Binance's hot wallet, during which multiple trading platforms disclosed their cold wallet reserve ratios to bolster user confidence. Gate disclosed that 88.26% of its total assets are held in cold wallets, while Coinbase stated that over 99% of customer assets are kept offline.

The CertiK research team pointed out that cold storage ratios can reflect the degree of online exposure of assets but cannot serve as a standalone security score. Increasing the cold wallet proportion generally helps reduce online risk, but when the ratio is already high, the benefits of further increases may be limited; overly rigid storage ratios could also slow down withdrawals, force platforms to hastily transfer assets, and concentrate risk in key management systems.

CertiK recommends that trading platforms set hot wallet limits separately based on different assets and blockchains, while considering three criteria: a certain proportion of customer liabilities, estimated withdrawal demand, and an absolute loss cap based on the platform's financial resources and asset recovery capabilities. The firm believes that potential losses should be constrained through hard USD caps and circuit breaker mechanisms while ensuring operational liquidity.