A day after the reported release of the OKEx founder, the crypto exchange announced that it will soon be resuming withdrawals. Amid the crackdown by Chinese authorities, OKEx withdrawals remained suspended since October 16. The exchange noted that it has restored all other security measures now.
It’s big news for all the account holders of the OKEx crypto exchange. On Thursday, November 19, OKEx announced that it will officially resume withdrawals after a month of temporary suspension. OKEx will resume the withdrawal services for digital assets on or before November 27.
The news comes in a day within rumors emerged that the Chinese police will release OKEx founder Mingxing “Star” Xu. Amid a nationwide crackdown, the Chinese police arrested Xu last month after private keys of exchange accounts went missing. The crackdown forced OKEx to suspend all temporary withdrawals. It seems that OKEx has deployed extraordinary security measures as asked by Chinese police.
In a statement yesterday, the exchange noted:
“The issue that triggered OKEx to deploy the extraordinary security measure has since been resolved. All user funds can be withdrawn without restriction after withdrawals are reopened.”
While the crypto exchange suspended withdrawals over the last month, other functions remained unaffected. However, the suspension of withdrawals made account holders nervous with no clarity of regulatory action. OKEx noted that it has always maintained 100% reserves since the inception. Thus, users can withdraw all their funds from November 27. OKEx CEO Jay Hao said:
“We are extremely pleased to announce the return of a full service and would like to thank our users for their continuous support during this difficult time. We apologize for the inconvenience caused and, beyond offering loyalty rewards, we know that we must continue to work diligently to restore their confidence”.
Chinese Crackdown on Crypto Exchanges
As China gears up for the launch of its Digital Yuan CBDC, authorities have increased their vigilance on cryptocurrency exchanges. Apart from OKEx, other crypto exchanges like Huobi were also facing similar problems. Well, the latest report also suggests that Chinese Bitcoin miners have been unable to liquidate their holdings.
As of date, Chinese miners dominate 70% of the BTC hash rate and mining power. These miners periodically sell their BTC holdings to fund the costs of mining. But with the latest regulatory crackdown, miners have found it difficult in liquidating their holdings. Singapore-based trading platform QCP Capital noted that the drying up of the supply and the surge in the demand has been one of the reasons for the recent BTC price surge.
At present, BTC is trading just 10% short of its all-time high of $20,000. In November so far, the BTC price has surged 25% and currently fluctuating around $18,000. The surge in the institutional money inflow in BTC has made it even more attractive than before.
Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.
