OKX Exchange CEO Bans Tornado Cash Interaction for Users

• OKX exchange CEO stated the clearance of users accounts interacting with Tornado Cash.
• Cryptocurrency scams have shown a sharp increase in the past few months.

The cryptocurrency sector has witnessed an increasing number of scams in the past few months. The recent WazirX hack caught market attention over the loss of its $230 million funds. Amid such various reports, the China-based OKX exchange announced a new measure to prevent hacker activity.

Notably, OKX exchange’s CEO Star made an announcement on his X account stating that users cannot interact with the Tornado Cash platform. The announcement outlined particular procedures for the suspension of accounts that show activity on Tornado Cash.

Moreover, Star XU stated that those particular community members sanctioned by the OKX exchange cannot create an account on the exchange. Additionally, he also mentioned that users who have already opened accounts will be observed for activity relating to ‘sanctioned entities’ such as GaranTex and Tornado Cash.

Specifically, the users, if seen receiving deposits from either of the aforementioned platforms or withdrawing funds onto the OKX exchange will trigger security checking. The CEO stated that these actions will trigger compliance risk control and result in the clearing of user accounts.

In response to the post, several community members expressed criticisms. One particular user, “SomaXBT” stated that Tornado Cash could be used by traders for privacy despite it being ‘the final destination for illicit funds’.

Is OKX Setting an Exemplar to Curb Crypto Scams?

In the past few months, several cryptocurrency scam reports emerged with the loss of significant amounts of digital assets. The aforementioned WazirX hack was the largest in 2024. Recently, in the past month, BlackRock discussed the increasing number of scams targeting investors of its BTC and ETH spot ETFs.

Meanwhile, governmental organizations such as the SEC have sustained their heightened scrutiny of the sector. Recently, leading crypto firm Ripple faced $125 million fine in its lawsuit against the regulator.

However, the recent move by OKX suggests restricting the interference of risky entities that provide opportunities for security breaches. This can be interpreted as an indication to alter current methods used to curb cryptocurrency scams. On the other hand, such moves might limit trading activities for users.

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