OKX has put a temporary halt on its decentralized exchange aggregator following scrutiny from European Union (EU) regulators regarding its alleged involvement in helping North Korea launder funds linked to a recent cyber attack on the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit.
Reports surfaced on March 11 indicating that EU authorities were examining OKX’s Web3 services based on claims of laundering funds from the Bybit incident. This led to comments from OKX President Hong Fang and other officials, who described the news as misleading and emphasized the company’s dedication to fighting financial crime.
I’m extremely frustrated that while we strive to enhance safety in our industry, those we’ve assisted are spreading misleading information and fostering FUD.
Regardless of external narratives, we take our compliance obligations very seriously. We are committed to our… https://t.co/nN9aYlPNO1
— hong (@hfangca) March 11, 2025
We usually refrain from responding to false claims and misrepresentation.
Despite our efforts to actively support Bybit by providing resources, they seem to be circulating misinformation on X and with reporters.
Today, we spoke with Bloomberg and issued our statement… https://t.co/VJyK9WhKSP
— Haider (@Haider) March 11, 2025
A spokesperson for OKX explained in a Telegram message that they are addressing a tagging issue with explorers that inaccurately identifies the OKX DEX aggregator as the destination for trades. In reality, the aggregator is designed to find the best price for executing orders, with the final trade taking place on one of the decentralized exchanges to which it connects.
After discussions with regulators, the spokesperson continued, they proactively suspended the DEX aggregator to implement necessary tagging updates and security enhancements.
This move is intended to enhance transparency regarding how their software operates while ensuring the protection of the platform and its users.