OKEx Founder Under Police Custody, All Withdrawals Suspended Indefinitely
OKEx says withdrawals cannot be authorized because they do not have the private key
Key Takeaways
- OKEx said it would suspend all user withdrawals beginning 11:00 on Oct. 16 (Hong Kong time).
- Withdrawals cannot be authorized as the exchange's private key holder is out of reach and cooperating with law enforcement.
- According to a news report, the private key holder is Xu Mingxing , the founder of OKEx.
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Police interrogation with OKEx founder for an unknown investigation leaves exchange users scratching their heads and without their money.
OKEx Pauses Exchange Withdrawals
OKEx, a leading crypto exchange, announced that it would be suspending all withdrawals for an indefinite period. The exchange said that one of its private key holders is not available.
Beginning at 11:00 am on Oct. 16, 2020 (Hong Kong time), OKEx said it would suspend all user withdrawals.
In a notice, OKEx clarified that the keyholder is out of reach and is cooperating with law enforcement in an ongoing investigation. The argument is that withdrawal authorization could not be finished because the private key holder is out of reach.
“Private key holders are currently cooperating with the public security bureau in investigations where required,” the notice stated.
There have been reports on the identification of who the key holder could be. According to Caixin’s report, the person is Xu Mingxing, the founder of OKEx, who has been in police custody and is currently being interrogated.
OKex assured that the funds are safe, and withdrawals will be resumed once the person is available to authorize the withdrawals. While withdrawals of cryptocurrencies are suspended, other functions are still active.
Meanwhile, the market reacted negatively to the news, and prices of the top cryptocurrencies declined sharply.
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