As the FTX collapse highlighted the need for more transparency from centralized crypto exchanges, top cryptocurrency trading platforms have partnered with auditors. This is to assure users that their assets are secure. However, two of the most prominent auditors abruptly stopped providing crypto auditing services, leaving exchanges in limbo. These firms work with prominent crypto exchanges such as Binance, KuCoin, Crypto.com, Gate.io OKX, and FTX.
The official website of the French auditing firm Mazars Group currently shows that its crypto auditing section, Mazars Veritas, is offline. In addition to Binance, KuCoin, and Crypto.com, the firm has worked with several prominent cryptocurrency exchanges in the past. Despite no official announcement from Mazars, Binance confirmed that the auditing firm has temporarily suspended its work with all its crypto clients.
According to a spokesperson from Binance, people have been looking for more assurances that other exchanges won’t suffer the same fate as FTX because of the FTX incident. It was FTX’s failure to ensure that its assets exceeded its liabilities to customers that caused its insolvency. As a result, people want to verify that this will not occur again in the future.
Furthermore, Armanino has also reportedly ceased providing crypto auditing services. The firm has worked with several cryptocurrency trading platforms, including OKX, Gate.io, and the embattled FTX exchange. According to Forbes, the firm may be facing pressure from its non-crypto clients after being named in a class-action lawsuit for failing to spot issues with FTX.
In 2014, the accounting firm began providing crypto auditing services to clients. These services include proof-of-reserve audits and stablecoin attestations. It is no secret that users have become more cautious about centralized crypto trading platforms as a result of the collapse of FTX.