OKX cracks down on Tornado Cash users with account terminations

In an announcement aimed at reinforcing financial integrity and improving compliance measures with international sanctions, OKX CEO Star Xu declared that any accounts on the OKX exchange found to be interacting with Tornado Cash would be terminated.

Compliance crackdown

Xu emphasized that if users deposit money from sanctioned entities such as Garantex and Tornado Cash into OKX accounts or attempt to withdraw funds from OKX to these entities, the exchange’s risk control mechanisms will be triggered, resulting in account closures. “We are required to comply with applicable sanctions policies, including US sanctions,” Xu stated.

He cited the exchange’s stringent policies and personal experiences, claiming that users risk facing sudden account blocks, fund freezes and asset losses. Satoshi Friends mentioned that several influencers had their accounts blocked and funds limited, with partial resolution only occurring after direct intervention with the OKX team.

Response to user concerns

In response, Xu acknowledged that the user’s account had multiple significant transactions related to sanctioned exchanges or DeFi protocols. Xu noted that the user had been allowed to withdraw his clean funds before blocking his account.

However, OKX refused to transfer the user’s data from an old account to a new one, citing that it would violate their compliance policy and be a potential workaround.

Xu reiterated the importance of compliance, noting that OKX does not onboard any customer on the Specially Designated Nationals list and cannot offer services to sanctioned persons or entities.

He reassured the majority of users that they are unlikely to be affected by these measures because they are far from those sanction programs and will never conduct transactions related to a sanctioned person.

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