Mazars Halts Audit Work for Crypto Firms, Including Binance, Crypto.com

Report: Firm Concerned About Market Reaction, Media

Audit and accounting firm Mazars Group has paused all work for crypto firms, including Binance, Crypto.com and KuCoin.

Mazars had recently provided Proof of Reserves (PoR) reports for Binance and Crypto.com, attesting that customers’ deposits with those Centralized Exchanges (CEX) were fully backed. Mazars also produced a report similarly confirming KuCoin’s and BingX’s assets.

According to Bloomberg News, who cited an email they had seen from Mazars, the firm “suspended work for cryptocurrency firms because of indications that markets haven’t been reassured by the ‘proof-of-reserves’ reports it had published so far ... The firm was also concerned about intense media scrutiny.”

The Financial Times noted that Mazars USA LLP is the auditor for the Kraken exchange’s parent company, Payward Inc.

Major crypto exchanges have been under pressure to produce independent audit reports of their finances and reserves, especially after the spectacular collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX empire. However, the exchanges have reported significant difficulties in convincing global Big Four audit firms to work with them -- possibly due to the “public relations” liabilities cited by Mazar.

What is Binance:

Binance positions itself as the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and crypto-asset infrastructure provider with a financial product suite that includes the largest digital asset exchange by volume. The Binance platform aims to increase the freedom of money for users and features a comprehensive portfolio of crypto-asset products and offerings, including trading and finance, education, data and research, social good, investment and incubation, decentralization, and infrastructure solutions.

Where to find Binance:

Website | Twitter | Discord | Telegram |

What is Crypto.com:

Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency exchange that started operating in 2016. It has extended its reach to over 10 million users within 5 years. The platform was founded by Bobby Bao, Gary Or, Kris Marszalek, and Rafael Melo, with its headquarters in Singapore. Crypto.com projects include the Crypto.com Visa card (one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency card programs), the exchange, the Cronos blockchain, and a DeFi wallet. The exchange operates across three continents, the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Where to find Crypto.com:

Website | Twitter | Medium | Linkedin | Discord | Telegram | Reddit | Kakao