Bybit and OKX users swap stablecoin pillow for BTC blanket 🛏️₿

Users on Bybit and OKX increased their Bitcoin holdings in the exchanges' latest Proof of Reserves reports, while $USDT balances moved lower on both platforms. The data points to a wider pattern in exchange reserve reporting, where user balances are tilting toward $BTC and away from stablecoin liquidity on some major venues.

Bybit's June 24 snapshot recorded 49,309 $BTC, up 10.22%, while OKX's June 19 snapshot showed 123,056 $BTC, up 10.67%, according to Wu Blockchain's June 29 post, which cited the exchanges' reserve pages. OKX's Proof of Reserves page lists a 106% $BTC reserve ratio, with 123,056 $BTC in account assets and 130,063 $BTC in wallet assets. "Bybit and OKX Report Rising User $BTC Holdings, Falling $USDT Balances," Wu Blockchain said.

Stablecoin balances moved in the opposite direction. Bybit reported 5.319 billion $USDT, down 4.12%, while OKX reported 9.268 billion $USDT, down 9.52%. $USDT commonly functions as a trading base and a parking asset for users entering or exiting crypto positions, so a smaller balance can shape the dry powder available for spot buying on a venue, though Proof of Reserves figures only show a snapshot of balances and do not indicate user intent.

Ethereum balances painted a mixed picture across the two exchanges. Bybit reported 496,565 $ETH, down 10.13%, while OKX reported 1.652 million $ETH, up 6.15%. The split indicates that the $BTC increase was clearer than the $ETH trend across the two platforms, with Bybit's lower Ethereum balance potentially reflecting withdrawals, trading rotation, or users moving $ETH elsewhere, and OKX's increase pointing to a different balance shift on its own platform.

The data follows a similar pattern in a recent Binance Proof of Reserves report, where users raised $BTC and $ETH holdings in June while $USDT holdings fell by about 460 million tokens, a reminder that reserve snapshots do not explain why balances changed. Proof of Reserves became a central exchange transparency tool after the 2022 centralized platform failures, and earlier reserve rankings listed Binance with the largest reserve stack.