• OKX has temporarily suspended its DEX aggregator service after European regulators raised concerns over its alleged use in laundering $100 million from the Bybit hack.
  • The suspension comes as OKX faces scrutiny under the EU’s MiCA regulations, following reports linking the stolen funds to North Korean hackers.

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has temporarily suspended its decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator services following regulatory concerns over their alleged use in laundering funds from a major cyberattack.

The move follows scrutiny from European financial watchdogs after hackers linked to North Korea reportedly laundered approximately $100 million in stolen assets through the platform.

In a statement released on Monday, OKX said:

“After consulting with regulators, we made the proactive decision to temporarily suspend our DEX aggregator services. This move allows us to implement additional upgrades to prevent further misuse.”

The decision comes in response to a Bloomberg report highlighting how OKX’s Web3 service was used in the laundering of funds stolen in the February attack on Bybit, a digital asset trading platform. The attack, which resulted in a $1.5 billion loss, is considered one of the most sophisticated in the crypto sector to date.

OKX is now under increased scrutiny as it operates within the framework of the European Union’s new Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA) regulations.

Reports indicate that national regulators from the EU’s 27 member states discussed the company’s Web3 service during a meeting of the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) Digital Finance Standing Committee on March 6.

The company’s Web3 platform, marketed as a decentralized finance (DeFi) tool, includes a self-custodial wallet that provides access to multiple exchanges and blockchains. One of the key features of the Web3 wallet is the DEX aggregator, which has now been suspended.

OKX, founded in 2017 and based in the Seychelles, is a major cryptocurrency exchange offering trading in over 300 digital assets, including Bitcoin and Ether. In July, the company reported that 53 million individual wallets had been created on its Web3 platform, which supports transactions across 100 blockchains.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah