- OKEx has stopped deposits and withdrawals after one of its top executives was revealed to be involved in a police investigation
- Very few details have been shared, although OKEx say they cannot contact the “private key holder”
- The crypto markets dropped slightly on the news
An apparent investigation into popular exchange OKEx has hit the crypto markets, with $9 billion taken off the market cap as Bitcoin fell $300. OKEx published a blog post in the early hours in which they stated that one of their private key holders was “cooperating with a public security bureau in investigations”, with the exchange unable to process deposits and withdrawals as a result.
OKEx “Out of Touch” With Individual
In the blog post announcing the development, OKEx added that they have been “out of touch” with the individual concerned, who is presumed to be one of the top executives in the company, and that as a result they were unable to process withdrawals and deposits:
There is no information yet as to what exactly is being investigated, but the suggestion that there could be something amiss at OKEx was enough to precipitate a selloff in the crypto markets, with Bitcoin dropping $300 and $9 billion being wiped off the total market cap:
Bitcoin Reaction Emphasizes Market Resilience
OKEx is the second biggest spot exchange and the biggest derivatives exchange in the crypto space, and so any suggested impropriety was always going to have a negative impact. What is interesting however is that the OKEx news comes in the wake of the ongoing BitMEX scandal, a run of bad news that would in previous years have been catastrophic for the Bitcoin price.
The fact therefore that Bitcoin barely blinked and still remains above $11,300 is a sign that times are changing and that the cryptocurrency markets aren’t as fragile as they once were. Of course this could change if it turns out that OKEx is in serious trouble, but for now there is no suggestion of this and we await further news on the matter.
