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OKEx Resumes Withdrawals 5 Weeks After Freeze

The cryptocurrency exchange is reopening withdrawals five weeks after services were suspended due to a missing key holder.

By Sebastian Sinclair
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 10:35 a.m. Published Nov 26, 2020, 8:09 a.m.
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Malta-based cryptocurrency exchange OKEx has reopened withdrawals five weeks after an abrupt suspension.

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In a short blog post on Thursday, the exchange announced that it was lifting the freeze at 08:00 UTC and pointed users to a compensation and loyalty program in an attempt to appease disgruntled users.

As reported by CoinDesk on Wednesday, OKEx had been preparing its platform functionality ahead of the reopening by testing its withdrawal system, as 0.02 BTC was moved out from an OKEx wallet.

On Oct. 16, OKEx had been forced to suspend all account withdrawals when an unnamed holder of the keys to the cryptocurrency assets was detained by police to apparently assist an investigation.

See also: Despite New Incentives to Stay, Some of OKEx’s Chinese Users Are Determined to Leave

A report in the Chinese newspaper Caixin said the key holder was the founder of OKCoin and CEO of OK Group Mingxing “Star” Xu, based on sources “close" to the company.

However, OKEx representatives have denied any connection between the two when asked by CoinDesk.

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