OKX CEO’s Warning on Sanctioned Entities

OKX will terminate user accounts found engaging with “sanctioned entities” such as Tornado Cash and Garantex, CEO Star Xu stated today, responding to a user’s concerns about using the exchange.

Xu mentioned in an X post that depositing funds from sanctioned entities or withdrawing funds to them would “trigger compliance risk controls, leading to account closure.” He specifically highlighted Garantex and Tornado Cash as examples of sanctioned entities.

This statement followed user Satoshi Friends’ warning to his followers about potential risks faced by users from the Commonwealth of Independent States. He cautioned that they may experience sudden account blocking, fund freezing, and loss of assets.

Satoshi Friends also shared that his account was blocked, along with many years of accumulated referrals. He remarked that influencers recommending OKX might face financial and reputational risks.

In response to Satoshi Friends, Xu noted that the user had significant transactions related to sanctioned exchanges or DeFi protocols, leading to the discontinuation of services. Xu clarified they allowed him to withdraw clean funds before blocking the account but could not assist him in setting up a new account, as it would be a bypass of compliance policy.

The Block has reached out to both OKX and Satoshi Friends for further comments.

Tornado Cash, a controversial crypto mixer, has been labeled problematic by various regulators due to its ability to obfuscate cryptocurrency movements, complicating law enforcement efforts to trace illicit funds. Recently, blockchain security firm PeckShield reported that an address linked to the Nomad Bridge exploitation transferred 14,500 ether (about $35.2 million) to Tornado Cash.

Alexey Pertsev, a developer of Tornado Cash, was denied bail in the Netherlands earlier this month after being sentenced to five years and four months in prison on money laundering charges.