OKX’s $28.8b reserves are flawless. So why are Bitcoin holders shifting capital

As OKX releases its latest proof of reserves, holding $28.8 billion in assets, a curious trend emerges: Bitcoin withdrawals persist while Ethereum deposits climb. What’s driving the shift, and does it signal deeper market dynamics?

On July 30, crypto exchange OKX published its 33rd proof of reserves, verifying it holds more than enough assets to cover user balances. Specifically, the assets are worth $28.8 billion, with Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and stablecoins all backed at 100% or higher.

The report, part of the exchange’s monthly transparency push, shows OKX’s reserves remain robust, even as user BTC holdings dipped for the second consecutive month. Bitcoin reserves sit at 106%, meaning the exchange holds more BTC than users have deposited, yet the amount of Bitcoin held on-platform has shrunk by thousands of coins since May.

The Bitcoin exodus and Ethereum’s quiet takeover

The July report confirms what has quietly been unfolding for months. Compared to OKX’s May 10 reserves disclosure, user-held Bitcoin dropped from 125,164 BTC to just 116,769 BTC by July 30. This represents a net outflow of 8,395 BTC, worth nearly $1 billion at the time of writing, crypto.news data shows.

While OKX’s 106% reserve ratio means it still holds more Bitcoin than users have deposited, the steady outflow suggests traders are either moving coins into self-custody or rotating into other assets. At the same time, the exchange’s BTC reserve ratio has actually grown by 1%, underscoring that this isn’t a liquidity crunch; it’s an opt-out, with users potentially exploring alternative trading positions, such as staking.
According to an OKX representative, the exchange has noted this trend across other trading platforms as well.
“We’ve observed a recent trend across multiple exchanges of traders ‘hoarding btc’ i.e. preferring to hold in cold storage instead of actively trading. This has contributed to the upward price action. We have also observed BTC holders taking large swathes of btc and staking for yield. OKX recently rolled out a xBTC staking product that enrolled 1300 bitcoin in a day last week which is an example of this trend,” the representative told crypto.news on July 31.

Ethereum, meanwhile, tells a different story. User deposits surged 6% in June, adding another 110,153 ETH, worth $272 million at the time, to OKX’s books. The trend held in July, with ETH reserves climbing to 101%, a sign that traders are increasingly parking their Ethereum on exchanges rather than pulling it. This divergence is striking. Bitcoin, the original “get off exchanges” asset, is being withdrawn while Ethereum, historically seen as more of a trading instrument, is piling up.

Ethereum resurgence

Ethereum’s resurgence appears tied not only to price recovery but to evolving sentiment. ETH has become the cornerstone for liquid staking, DeFi activity, and tokenized asset experimentation. The more its use cases expand, the more attractive it becomes to traders willing to park capital on exchanges, at least temporarily.

Then there’s the altcoin factor. Solana and XRP reserves also grew, with XRP’s backing ratio hitting 109%, the highest of any major asset on OKX. This suggests traders aren’t just swapping Bitcoin for Ethereum; they’re diversifying into smaller caps, possibly chasing volatility or betting on regulatory clarity for tokens like XRP.