Gate's Proof of Reserves (PoR) adds zk-SNARKs (zero-knowledge proofs) on top of the Merkle tree. Besides letting you confirm your own balance was counted, it proves mathematically that no user's net balance is negative, which closes the trick of shrinking total liabilities with negative-balance accounts. This guide covers the latest total reserves and per-coin ratios on Gate's official PoR page, what the zk-SNARK actually proves, the two-command self-verification process, what Hacken reviewed, and the wallet and account protections listed on Gate's security page. Figures were checked on 2026-09-28; reserves update each round, so the official page takes precedence.
Gate's latest reserve figures (2026-09-13)
From the Gate Proof of Reserves page, checked on 2026-09-28. The page shows the latest audit time as 2026-09-13 00:00 (UTC+0), which is 08:00 in Taiwan.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Gate total reserves | $8,215,076,154 (about $8.22 billion) |
| Customer net balance | $7,005,691,664 (about $7.01 billion) |
| Excess reserves | $1,209,384,490 (about $1.21 billion, +17.26%) |
| Total reserve ratio | 117% |
| Algorithm | Merkle Tree + zk-SNARKs |
The first six coins listed on the page:
| Coin | Customer net balance | Gate wallet balance | Reserve ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTC | 21,166 BTC | 25,466 BTC | 120.31% |
| ETH | 350,840 ETH | 433,589 ETH | 123.59% |
| USDT | 795,691,836 | 909,080,049 | 114.25% |
| USD1 | 555,551,088 | 556,459,679 | 100.16% |
| DOGE | 2,119,089,293 | 2,273,696,842 | 107.30% |
| SOL | 992,101 | 1,008,383 | 101.64% |
How to read these tables:
- The total ratio is across all coins in USD terms. 117% means about $1.21 billion more overall, but the buffer differs by coin: USD1 is only 0.16% above, SOL 1.64%, while BTC and ETH are above 120%.
- "Customer net balance" is after liabilities: for an account with borrowing, the loan is deducted first. This is exactly one of the things Gate's zk-SNARK is meant to prove (see the next section).
- There are many more coins on the page: the coin list runs to multiple pages and the table shows only the first six. For the coins you hold, look up that coin's ratio on the official page.
When reading a PoR, look beyond the total ratio to the coin you actually hold: a strong total does not mean every coin has the same buffer.
What the zk-SNARK proves in Gate's PoR
A Merkle-only PoR has a well-known blind spot: if an exchange puts negative-balance accounts into the tree, total liabilities shrink, and a single user checking only their own leaf cannot see it. Gate's page says it uses a zk-SNARK to confirm three things for each leaf:
- The total assets managed by the platform include all users' asset balances.
- Every user's net balance is greater than or equal to zero.
- Any change to any user's assets changes the Merkle root hash.
zk-SNARK stands for Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge. It can prove those conditions hold without revealing any individual user's assets, so it serves both verification and privacy.
Wallet ownership and snapshots: Gate's four steps
The official page splits the process into four steps: wallet ownership → account balance snapshot → zk-SNARK proof generation → Merkle tree generation.
- Wallet ownership: for both hot and cold wallets, the platform transfers a randomly designated amount to addresses specified by the audit firm to prove control; the audit firm then aggregates the balances of those addresses, which include both user assets and the platform's own assets.
- Snapshot and Merkle tree: each user's hashed ID and balance form a data block, the same hash function produces the leaves, and pairs are hashed upward to a single Merkle root; the leaves are exported to a plain text file and published with the root hash.
- Latest root hash: the page shows
28f1313fe05304fe05831a3f99959887e8b75cf69100a59114edf738a8dca7ad.
"Total reserves" include the platform's own assets, so the part above 100% is the exchange's own money to begin with. Whether users are fully backed depends on whether, coin by coin, the platform holds at least the customer net balance.
Verify it yourself: download the program, run two commands
Gate's verification runs the official open-source program on your own computer. Steps from the official page and Gate's official GitHub:
- Download the verifier from the official page or GitHub Releases for your system (macOS Intel or Apple silicon, Linux, Windows) and rename it to
main. - Download the data: on the PoR page, find the round you want and click "Download Merkle Tree" and "Download User Config". The
user_config.jsonfile corresponds to your own account. - Arrange the files: unzip
zkmerkle_cex_xxx.tar.gz, putmaininto that folder anduser_config.jsoninto theconfigfolder. - Verify the exchange's assets: in a terminal, go to the folder and run
./main verify cex. Success shows the message "All proofs verify passed". You may need to give the program execute permission withchmodfirst. - Verify your own assets: run
./main verify user. Success shows your Merkle leaf hash and the message "verify pass".
Step 4 checks the overall zk-SNARK proof (the exchange-side totals and constraints); step 5 checks that your own balance is in the tree. Passing both completes a full verification.
Gate's original GitHub repository is archived and points to a new one, gate/proof-of-reverses; use the new repository for the latest code.
What Hacken reviewed
At the bottom of the official PoR page, the "Gate PoR Implementation" section lists Hacken as the audit firm, an audit date of 3 January 2024, four named auditors and the code repository, with a report file (named "Gate.io PoR Implementation"). Judging by the name and the listed repository, the review covers the implementation of the PoR system: the verification program and proof process.
The distinction matters: this does not mean Hacken audits each round's figures. As of 2026-09-28 the page shows no third-party sign-off per round; each round is published by Gate, and its correctness rests on the zk-SNARK proof and user self-verification.
The limits of a proof of reserves
These are general limits of PoR at any exchange, not a comment on Gate specifically:
- It is a single moment: flows between rounds are not captured.
- Liabilities mostly mean user balances: the platform's other liabilities are outside the PoR. The zk-SNARK closes the negative-balance gap, not every liability.
- Other commitments are invisible: holdings show on-chain, pledges or loans do not.
- Security and operational risk are not covered: full reserves do not rule out a hack or a withdrawal pause.
- It is not regulation: a PoR is a voluntary transparency tool, not a regulator's examination.
Reserves and security are different questions: a PoR answers whether the money is there, while wallet design and account settings answer whether it can be taken.
Beyond the PoR: security measures Gate lists
From Gate's security page (checked on 2026-09-28):
Asset custody
- Hot and cold wallet separation: most funds sit in offline, multi-signature cold wallets isolated from online activity.
- Multi-signature and MPC for hot wallets: private key management is split across parties to avoid a single point of failure.
- Real-time withdrawal risk assessment: machine learning evaluates withdrawal requests, and trading and withdrawal limits are adjusted by user behavior and risk, with suspicious transactions blocked.
- Withdrawals freeze after security changes: the page states that when account security settings change, the system will freeze withdrawal functionality within 24 hours. If you cannot withdraw right after changing your password or 2FA device, this is likely why.
What you can turn on
The account protections listed include login password, fund password, email, SMS, Google OTP, Gate Ukey/YubiKey hardware keys, IP address monitoring, withdrawal whitelist, anti-phishing code and security logs, covering login, trading, withdrawal and security-setting changes. Gate Ukey is Gate's own hardware key for verifying logins, withdrawals and security changes.
Reporting vulnerabilities
Gate runs a bug bounty program: email sec@gate.com, submit a ticket, or report via HackenProof.
Note that Gate's security page focuses on wallet architecture and risk controls, and does not list a dedicated user protection fund amount. To understand how a platform-wide incident would be handled, read the official terms or ask official support.
Public security incident history
We only include incidents backed by an official announcement or a reliable primary source:
- November 2018: malicious code injected into a third-party analytics service. A research report published by security firm ESET on 2018-11-06 found that attackers breached the web analytics service StatCounter and added code targeting only gate.io's bitcoin withdrawal page, swapping the destination address for the attackers'. ESET's update says StatCounter removed the malicious script on 6 November and Gate.io had stopped using StatCounter several hours earlier; ESET said it could not tell how much was taken. It was a supply-chain attack through a third-party service, not a breach of Gate's own wallets.
We found no other incident we could verify through an official announcement or primary source, so none is listed; if you see other claims, rely on Gate's official announcements.
For users in Taiwan
Gate is not on Taiwan's FSC list of virtual asset service providers that have completed AML registration (list version 2026-09-03). A PoR is transparency information the exchange publishes itself; it is separate from whether an exchange is supervised in Taiwan. See offshore exchanges and Taiwan's VASP register.
How this relates to fee rebates
Binding a rebate only needs your UID; the rebate platform can neither see nor move your assets, so it adds nothing to and removes nothing from the risks above. See is a crypto fee rebate safe. If you decide to use Gate, binding code QUANTXXX through Quant Nova gives new users a 60% futures rebate at Lv.1, 65% at SVIP and up to 70% (Supernova, invite-only). Rates and worked examples are in the Gate fee rebate guide, and you can bind on the Quant Nova rebate platform.
FAQ
What is Gate's latest reserve ratio?
As of 2026-09-28 the latest round on the official page is 2026-09-13 00:00 (UTC+0): total 117%, BTC 120.31%, ETH 123.59%, USDT 114.25%, USD1 100.16%, DOGE 107.30%, SOL 101.64%.
How is Gate's PoR different from a Merkle-only PoR?
Gate also uses a zk-SNARK to prove that no user's net balance is negative and that total assets include all user balances, without revealing anyone's holdings. With a Merkle-only PoR, a single user cannot check whether others have negative balances.
How do I check that my balance was included?
Download that round's Merkle Tree and your own User Config from the PoR page, place them in the official verifier folder, and run ./main verify user; the "verify pass" message means it passed.
Is Gate's PoR audited by a third party?
The official page lists a Hacken audit of Gate's PoR implementation dated 2024-01-03. As of 2026-09-28 the page shows no per-round third-party sign-off; each round is published by Gate and backed by the zk-SNARK and user self-verification.
Why can't I withdraw after changing security settings?
Gate's security page states that when account security settings change, the system freezes withdrawal functionality within 24 hours, a safeguard against assets being moved right after an account takeover.
Does Gate have a protection fund?
As of 2026-09-28 Gate's security page does not list a dedicated protection fund amount; it focuses on hot and cold wallet separation, multi-signature and MPC, and withdrawal risk controls.
Reserve figures are from Gate's official Proof of Reserves page, security measures from Gate's official security page, and verification steps from the official page and GitHub, checked on 2026-09-28. Reserves update each round; the official pages always take precedence. This article is information only, not an assessment of any exchange's safety or investment advice.
