Bitstamp

Bitstamp

LuxembourgFounded 2011bitstamp.net ↗

Last reviewed 2026-08-29 · Methodology v1.0

Centralized Exchange

VIF Score ⓘVIF Score — Verifelse Independent Verification score. A deterministic 0–100 measure of how independently verifiable an exchange is.

19.7F

#10

of 10
VIF rankings

Reported Reserves

$4.94B

N/A

Source ↗ · DefiLlama (attributed on-chain assets)

Liabilities

Partial

Not available

Proof Age

—

No dated proof · Annual audit claimed; PoR cadence not published cadence

Verification

Undisclosed Big Four

Annual audit claimed · Independent verifier

Transparency Snapshot

No crypto-native proof

Bitstamp independent verification (Undisclosed Big Four) has been identified.

Primary limitation: Some facts are not fully corroborated and require verification.

Reserve Coverage

Not disclosed

Reported total reserve rate

Reserve coverage reflects only assets within the scope of the published proof, and does not by itself establish solvency. The exchange does not publish a total reserve rate that Verifelse currently recognizes.

Reserve Asset Composition

Bitcoin68.2%$3.37B
Ethereum24.6%$1.22B
Ripple3.5%$0.17B
Solana1.9%$0.09B
Cardano0.5%$0.02B
Litecoin0.5%$0.02B
Avalanche0.4%$0.02B
Sui0.3%$0.01B
Other0.2%$0.01B
Total$4.94B

Proof of Reserves

No Reserves ProofNo crypto-native PoRAssets only⚠ Estimated — needs verification

Bitstamp describes controls designed to validate company and client assets and liabilities, but the cited statement does not publish a current reserve-coverage conclusion or an external assurance report. Its 2014 BTC proof covered only a historical point in time.

MethodologyBitstamp states that its group and legal entities have been audited annually by an unnamed Big Four accounting firm since 2016 and that customer funds are reconciled daily, weekly, and monthly against third-party custodian records. The November 2022 statement describes publication of a Proof-of-Reserves audit as a future aim and does not provide the report, audit opinion, scope, reserve wallets, aggregate customer liabilities, or a user verification mechanism. Bitstamp's 2014 observed BTC proof is historical and is not treated as current verification.
Auditor / VerifierUndisclosed Big Four accounting firm (claimed by Bitstamp; report not public)
CadenceAnnual audit claimed; PoR cadence not published
Snapshot as ofNot published
Official proofblog.bitstamp.net ↗
Reported reserves sourceDefiLlama (attributed on-chain assets) ↗

Proof & Verification Artifacts

Verification matrix

Proof type
CryptographicAttestationFinancial statementsNone
Proof of Liabilities
LPORGlobal ZKMerkle-sumMerkle-inclusionAuditor-onlyNone
Wallet disclosure
FullPartialNone
Inclusion check
FullPartialNone
Verification tool
Open-source verifierInclusion self-checkNone
Third-party assurance
Financial auditAttestationAgreed-upon proceduresNone

Options are ordered strongest to weakest; the highlighted option reflects the proof method Verifelse recognizes for Bitstamp. This describes the method, not a solvency guarantee.

Proof History

Historical proofs are shown for research context and are excluded from the current verification status and VIF score.

Historical proof · 2014-05-24

Bitstamp BTC proof of reserves

View report ↗Announcement ↗
MethodObserved send-to-self transaction, signed wallet-control challenge, and direct SQL aggregation of customer BTC balances
ScopeBTC in the observed cold and hot wallets compared with customer BTC deposits and Ripple IOUs recorded in Bitstamp's master database
ObserverMike Hearn, Vinumeris GmbH (independent observer)
AssuranceIndependent observation; explicitly not a financial audit or formal attestation
Observed resultObserved wallet BTC exceeded recorded customer BTC deposits and Ripple IOUs by approximately 45 BTC at 13:00 CEST.

Limitations

  • Single point-in-time procedure performed while deposits and withdrawals remained active
  • No customer inclusion or challenge-account check
  • Bitstamp selected the procedure and the observer could not rule out a substituted or incomplete database
  • Historical BTC evidence only; it does not establish current reserves or liabilities

VIF Score Breakdown

Top-10 VIF median
Asset Verification5 / 100
Top-10 median: 67.5
Liability Verification5 / 100
Top-10 median: 50
Proof Freshness0 / 100
Top-10 median: 65
Public Verifiability10 / 100
Top-10 median: 68.5
Methodology Transparency75 / 100
Top-10 median: 95
Incident Disclosure82 / 100
Top-10 median: 77.4

Third-Party Verification

External verifierUndisclosed Big Four
Third-party assuranceNone identified

Related Incidents

Hot-wallet breachResolved

Jan 2015 · 18,866 BTC · Security breach

View all incidents →

Expert Commentary

No expert commentary currently indexed for Bitstamp.

This does not imply expert consensus or endorsement.