coindesk.com
A founder of the OKEx cryptocurrency exchange is being held by police, according to Chinese news source Caixin.
- In a report on Friday, Caixin said it spoke to two individuals close to OKEx who indicated that Mingxing "Star" Xu, had been taken by police at least a week ago and hasn't been seen since.
- The report isn't clear exactly where this occurred, however OKEx has a headquarters in Hong Kong, while being officially based in Malta.
- The report also doesn't indicate why police are holding Xu.
- The news comes soon after CoinDesk reported earlier on Friday that OKEx has suspended cryptocurrency withdrawals citing the absence of a holder of the exchange’s private keys.
- While the notice did say the individual is "cooperating with a public security bureau in investigations,” OKEx CEO and co-founder Jay Hao said on Weibo that the issue is over a personal matter and wouldn't affect the business.
- As the news broke, cryptocurrency prices took a dive, with bitcoin dropping around 3% in half an hour.
Also read: OKEx Suspends Withdrawals, Says Key Holder Not Available Due to Cooperation With Investigation