OKEx operations back to normal but withdrawals still suspended

Last October 16, major exchange site OKEx suspended withdrawals and other regional operations after authorities asked one of its three private keyholders to cooperate with an ongoing investigation. Five days later, they resumed trading operations but withdrawal service is still not available.

The key custodian holds the associated authorization needed to complete withdrawals. With one of three keyholders rendered unavailable, withdrawal transactions cannot be processed. OKEx has not been in contact with their personnel since the investigation started and the investigation matters are not disclosed.

Despite the setback, OKEx assures its customers that their assets are completely secure and will not be affected by the events. BTC and OKEx’s native token, OKB crashed soon after the withdrawal suspension.

Not only were withdrawals halted during this situation but also a huge chunk of OKEx’s operations in certain areas had to be suspended as well. Their Indian, Vietnamese and Chinese clients were not able to use the site’s P2P trading platform.

OKEx CEO Jay Hao stated that the decision to temporarily suspend operations was done with the security of their clients in mind. ‘As a world-leading exchange, user security is not something that OKEx can or will ever compromise on,’ Hao stated in an interview with cryptocurrency news site Cointelegraph.

Soon after the events transpired, news of police investigations on OKEx founder Star Xu started circulating the web. According to the reports, Mingxing ‘Star’ Xu was visited by the police a week before OKEx stopped their withdrawal operation. He was apparently questioned and has stopped reporting to his work according to Chinese news agency Caixin.

Mingxing Xu is no longer affiliated with the exchange site so it’s not clear whether the investigation’s matter is related to OKEx.

OKEx resumes operations except for withdrawals

Five days after the withdrawal suspension, OKEx resumed its normal operations but withdrawals remained inoperable. Their P2P trading platform is back to normal for Indian, Vietnamese and Chinese customers and users can resume buying crypto with fiat money.

The Malta-based exchange site announced that their P2P platform will resume trading on October 21 for CNY, INR and VND fiat pairs. Their Buy Crypto gateway will also become accessible while the Sell Crypto option will remain unavailable.

An OKEx representative revealed that their previous predicament could put the site and its assets in a vulnerable position. To ensure its security against hacks, they had to stop operations in specific regions. Fortunately, their user base knows how to keep their assets secure and protected. As a result, OKEx has decided that it is now safe to resume trading operations.

Three weeks after withdrawals were suspended, the exchange platform still hasn’t disclosed any information regarding the nature of the investigation their key custodian is part of. Withdrawals are still suspended and with no reliable source of information as to the reason behind it, rumours have started spreading.

To stop false speculations from spreading any further, OKEx officially disproved any claims in a public update on November 6. ‘Claims that a concerned party related to OKEx is under criminal detention have been refuted—we can confirm that these are rumours,’ the exchange site stated in a public announcement.

To further assuage their clients’ worry, OKEx added that once withdrawals become available again, users can withdraw 100% of their assets without worrying about any changes.