beincrypto.com
After a month of suspending withdrawals, the OKEx crypto exchange platform says it will resume the service before the end of November.
The news comes following speculation that company founder Star Xu (Xu Mingxing) had regained “some freedom” on Nov 18.
Xu is one of several high-profile Chinese crypto exchange executives embroiled in a police investigation over allegations of fraud and money laundering. Throughout 2020, Chinese authorities have put the country’s telecoms and cryptocurrency sector in the cross-hairs of its anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement actions.
OKEx announced plans to resume crypto withdrawals via a statement on its customer support page published on Nov 19. According to the announcement, the exchange initially paused its withdrawal service due to “well-known reasons.”
Indeed, BeInCrypto previously reported that Xu, who is reportedly one of the private key holders, was in police custody. Several news sources in China reported that Xu had been permitted limited contact with OKEx hinting at a possible resolution of the withdrawal suspension.
OKEx now plans to begin the withdrawal process beginning from Nov 27. Before this can happen, the crypto exchange says it will conduct strict security checks to ensure that its hot wallets remain uncompromised.
As reiterated on several occasions during this saga, OKEx assured customers that it still maintains 100% of its reserves with no run-ins occurring during the suspension imbroglio. The exchange also revealed plans to revamp its private key management protocols to prevent a recurrence of the situation.
Over the past 24 hours, OKB — the OKEx native token — has been on a tear. Rumors of Xu’s contact with the company and the possibility of the resumption of withdrawals has propelled the coin to move over 17% in the last 24-hours.
Market observers will undoubtedly be monitoring the reaction of the Bitcoin (BTC) price action to the resumption of withdrawals on OKEx. Back in October, when OKEx first announced the suspension of withdrawals, BTC dipped $300 in only 30 minutes. With OKEx resuming its withdrawal services, $3.48 billion worth of Bitcoin stuck on the exchange is now free to move.