OKPay – the payment-processing company – has told customers it will stop processing bitcoin transactions.

Providing customers with no more than a one-lined statement that reads: “Dear customers, we are currently suspending bitcoin processing,” OKPay has left its partners and customers confused about what lies behind the decision.

Mt. Gox – the largest bitcoin exchange, based in Tokyo – released a statement to say it is stopping transactions accordingly but is unsure what is happening behind the scenes. The statement said:

“Mt. Gox has recently been informed by OKPay, one of our longtime partners, that they are planning to stop performing wire transfers to and from all Bitcoin exchanges, including Mt. Gox. OKPay is offering a solution, but in the meantime we want to make sure that Mt. Gox customers and the Bitcoin community are well-informed about this development. While we are not completely clear about the dates of the transition, we would like to make a couple of points clear:

We will soon stop accepting deposits via OKPay. This may take up to a couple of weeks, but it will happen eventually.

Withdrawals to OKPay accounts will not be cut immediately, but will only be allowed up to the amount that OKPay users have deposited into Mt. Gox via OKPay. Beyond that amount there are other methods of withdrawal available.

Mt. Gox wishes the best to OKPay, and we look forward to working together more closely in the future. The Bitcoin economy is going through many changes recently, and we are positive that they will ultimately work themselves out in the best interests of the community and the World.”