The collapse of FTX highlighted the importance of proof of reserves in mitigating risks and increasing investor confidence, prompting leading cryptocurrency exchanges to publicly list their hot and cold wallet addresses. When attempting to confirm the availability of funds on Crypto.com , cold store information disclosed a suspicious transfer of 320,000 ETH on October 21st to a wallet address linked to Gate.io . Given that Crypto.com  claims that all user-owned cryptocurrencies are held offline in cold storage in collaboration with hardware wallet provider Ledger, concerns were understandably raised about the issue. As the debate heated up, CEO Kris Marszalek revealed that the funds, which accounted for 82% of Crypto.com &39s ETH in cold storage at the time, were indeed sent to Gate.io  by mistake. On-chain data verifies that Gate.io  returned 285,000 ETH to Crypto.com , but Marszalek claims that all funds were restored. Further investigation revealed that the missing 35,000 ETH was sent to a different address, which the crypto exchange has yet to confirm. Alarmingly, this is not the first time Crypto.com  has made headlines due to an unintentional transfer. In August 2022, it was discovered that the company had sent over $7 million to Melbourne-based investors in error, despite the fact that the refund was supposed to be just $67.
