Bitcoin Exchange OKEx Wallet Maintenance Causes Panic as 24,000 BTC Moves

The crypto community spotted some massive funds movement from OKEx and got scared that the cryptocurrency exchange was hacked. However, CEO Jay Hao called for calm.

Hundreds of Millions in BTC Move From OKEx

On Wednesday, Twitter user Whale Alert sounded the alarm, saying that at least 24,000 BTC moved from OKEx to unknown wallets. The combined value of BTC transfers is over $255 million according to the current prices. Whale Alert noticed 8 Bitcoin transactions with 3,000 BTC each.

Besides, 100,000 ETH moved from OKEx to an unknown wallet, apparently in a single transaction. This is the equivalent of $17.8 million – a huge amount even for a whale.

The community started to spread rumors that OKEx might have been hacked.

Rumors that okex is hacked. Hundreds of million? — Richard Heart (@RichardHeartWin) September 4, 2019

Note that OKEx is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world by trading volume, and a potential hack would instantly have an impact on the Bitcoin price.

CEO Points to Scheduled Maintenance

However, CEO Jay Hao explained that OKEx was experiencing scheduled maintenance. He called the crypto community to stop worrying about the large transfers.

It is scheduled wallet maintenance,don’t worry. Thanks https://t.co/4LFJweDXtd — Jay Hao (@JayHao8) September 4, 2019

The Whale Alert adopted Hao’s explanation, stressing that the transfers were part of OKEx’s maintenance.

ℹ️ The last few large #BTC and #ETH transfers are part of @OKex wallet maintenance. — Whale Alert (@whale_alert) September 4, 2019

Despite Hao’s intervention, some Twitter users weren’t satisfied with the statement. They want to know when the maintenance was announced and whether OKEx was trying to cover up a major hack.

On the other side, those who accept the official take call the community to stop spreading the FUD since OKEx’s funds are ok.

Crypto exchange heists are one of the major problems that scare investors. In the last few years, there have been several major hacks that affected even reputable platforms, such as Binance and Coincheck. Exchanges might be prone to hacks because they use hot wallets, i.e. digital wallets that reside online. To increase the security level, many platform operators are moving crypto funds to cold wallets.

Do you think OKEx is trying to cover up a massive hack? Share your thoughts in the comments section!

Images via Shutterstock, Twitter: @whale_alert, @RichardHeartWin, @JayHao8