Circle’s USDC Monitor Audits $10 Billion in Crypto in Q1 2019

Grant Thornton, the firm that audits Circle’s USDC stablecoin, on Thursday announced that it audited more than $10 billion in crypto assets in the first quarter of this year.

The audit company believed to have 15 to 20 clients, including crypto exchanges and major crypto businesses.

“Cryptocurrency companies must contend with an auditing challenge that is at once simple and complex,” Johnny Lee, national practice leader for forensic technology services at Grant Thornton, said. “First, can you prove that you own and control the assets you are claiming as yours? And, second, do those assets really exist – and can you prove as much?”

Building a scalable audit platform

The Chicago-headquartered company scrutinized 40 digital currencies including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, XRP, EOS, Tezos, Zcash, Monero, and a number of ERC-20 tokens. It also detailed that its proprietary audit platform examined more than 100 million cryptocurrency addresses.

The company has developed proprietary methods for testing the ownership and existence of each of these currencies and, to scale these capabilities for rapid testing, the firm has developed forensic nodes for complex currencies like Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Bitcoin Cash.

“We’ve spent four years developing technology platforms and auditing methodologies that allow us to create point-in-time balances for Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term – and we’ve done it with a level of accuracy that satisfies strict auditing standards. The result is that we can independently verify what a company holds in various cryptocurrencies,” Markus Veith, a partner in the audit practice at Grant Thornton and leader of the firm’s digital assets practice, added.

A vague practice?

Though the accounting firm is auditing crypto companies, it is not at liberty to disclose any discrepancies found in the Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Read this Term and the company’s books.

“We are constantly finding more coins than we’ve been told are out there,” Lee added.