How to check Usko Proof of Reserves
What Proof of Reserves proves, what it does not, and how to look up the published report for yourself.
What you need first
- A Usko account, if you want to check that your own balance is included.
- Ten minutes and a willingness to read carefully. This is the most technical guide in the series, and it is still not very technical.
What Proof of Reserves is
It is a way for an exchange to show that it actually holds the funds its users have deposited — without publishing anyone's balance.
It works with a structure called a Merkle tree. Every user balance is turned into a short fingerprint. Fingerprints are paired and combined, then combined again, and again, until a single fingerprint remains at the top: the Merkle root. Because changing any balance changes the root, publishing the root commits the exchange to that exact set of balances. And you can verify that your own balance sits underneath the root without ever seeing anyone else's.
Step 1 — Open the Reserves page
Select Reserves (or Proof of Reserves) from the main menu. The page shows the published report: the Merkle root and the customer assets covered.
Step 2 — Read the totals
The report lists per-currency totals: what customers hold and what is held in reserve against it. Read the date on the report as well — it is a snapshot of one moment, not a live feed.
Step 3 — Find your own record
When you are logged in, the page can show your own inclusion record — your balance and the path that connects it to the published root. Keep a copy if you want to be able to check it again later.
Step 4 — Verify the path
Verification means re-computing the chain of fingerprints from your record upwards and checking that you arrive at the published root. The page walks you through it. If the result matches, your balance was genuinely part of what was published.
Step 5 — Compare reports over time
One report is a snapshot; a series of them is a track record. Check back when a new report is published rather than treating any single one as the final word.
Watch it in the Usko app: the Reserves screen with the Merkle root and the customer assets covered.
What it does not prove
Being precise here matters more than sounding reassuring:
- It shows assets. It does not show liabilities owed elsewhere, so it is not a full audit.
- It describes one moment in time.
- It says nothing about how well the platform is run day to day.
It is one useful signal among several, not a guarantee. Your own habits still matter most: keep two-factor authentication on, never share credentials, and do not keep more on any exchange than you need there.