This on-chain proof of holdings interface displays the exact digital asset holdings backing the securities issued by ETC Group. The respective amount held in cold-storage custody corresponds to the cryptocurrency entitlement per security multiplied by shares outstanding (= required collateral). The amounts shown on the corresponding wallet list can be independently verified on the blockchain.
An on-chain proof of holdings is a way for an issuer of physically-backed cryptocurrency ETPs to provide transparency and evidence that the amount of cryptocurrency held in custody more than exceeds the required collateral for the ETP units in circulation (see below for required collateral calculation). This is achieved by publishing the respective blockchain wallet addresses (public keys) that contain the collateral for the product.
Publishing wallet addresses on the internet is safe because the wallet addresses used are public by design. This means they can be viewed by anyone with access to the blockchain. With a wallet address that is a public key, it is only possible to receive cryptocurrencies. However, it is vital to avoid disclosing private keys which allow cryptocurrencies to be transferred. At ETC Group, these private keys are managed and held in cold storage (offline) custody by regulated custodians.
All data on this page is updated regularly. Please refer to the respective timestamps for an indication. The wallet addresses can be independently verified on the blockchain.
It is common to store Bitcoin in many different addresses following a series of protocol-level improvements to the blockchain dating back to 2012. These improvements introduced hierarchical-deterministic (HD) wallets for enhanced privacy and security. HD wallets generate new key pairs from master key pairs for each crypto transaction such that the resulting hierarchical structure resembles the branches of a tree, with master keys “determining” the key pairs that follow in the hierarchy. HD wallets have multi-currency support and can be restored with a recovery phrase. Today, the vast majority of Bitcoin wallets are hierarchically deterministic as these wallets are considered the best way to store Bitcoin safely and privately.
Ethereum's technical architecture is fundamentally different to Bitcoin's. Ethereum operates on an account-based model where each address represents a single account and therefore it is not necessary to use multiple addresses for Ethereum as it is for Bitcoin.
BTCE and ZETH represent the large majority of assets under management (AUM) among our range of physically backed crypto ETPs. We plan to add more products to this proof of holdings page in due course to continue providing the highest standards of safety and transparency to our investor community. In the meantime, the independent administrator within our structure issues an AUM balance report weekly.
By design of our operational processes, this cannot happen because in the creation process (issuance of new units to market makers), ETC Group's issuer can only issue new units of the ETP after the underlying cryptocurrency is received in cold storage custody. This means crypto holdings in custody will always exceed the required collateral amount. For redemptions, the opposite happens, with units of the ETP being cancelled first and therefore brought out of circulation before cryptocurrency is released from cold storage custody.
Required collateral is calculated by multiplying the shares outstanding by the cryptocurrency entitlement of the ETP for the day. The cryptocurrency entitlement is the amount of cryptocurrency per single unit of ETP. All our ETPs are fully collateralised with the underlying cryptocurrency which is held with specialized and regulated custodians.