After weeks of poor communication, the OKEx picking function is still blocked
After blocking all digital asset withdrawals in mid-October, the Maltese exchange OKEx remains at the centre of the news: according to some rumours, an executive of the company is in custody. The fact remains that, after three weeks, clients cannot withdraw their funds from the exchange without receiving an explanation.
OKEx issued an official press release on 6 November:
„Rumours that a party related to OKEx is in custody have been refuted: we can confirm that these are only rumours“.
Cointelegraph contacted OKEx for further details, but received no response at the time of publication of this article.
The statement reads:
„At this time, as required by law, the interested party is actively cooperating with a public safety office in an investigation. […] OKEx has requested legal assistance and advice and, through this process, has made contact with the interested party“.
OKEx suspended the withdrawal function on 16 October: on that day, the exchange announced that one of the companies managing its private keys was cooperating with the authorities. It is not yet clear whether or not the recently mentioned „interested party“ is the holder of the private keys mentioned in the statement of 16 October.
Shortly after the news of the suspension of Bitcoin Method, rumours emerged that the police had questioned OKEx founder, Star Xu, as part of an investigation a few days before the measure was taken.
OKEx’s latest statement did not provide any specific details on the situation, but reaffirmed to the public the platform’s focus on legal compliance and confirmed that clients‘ assets are safe: „There was no exit of assets from OKEx after the suspension of withdrawals on 16 October.
„We can assure our users that 100% of their funds can be withdrawn after withdrawals have resumed. Currently, our business operations are stable and functioning as usual“.
Regulatory interest in the industry increased in 2020, which is particularly evident from the recent legal action brought by US authorities against the BitMEX crypto derivatives exchange.
