OKB
Summary
OKB is the native utility token of OKX, one of the world's largest centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, founded in 2017 by Star Xu (Mingxing Xu). In February 2025, OKX's Seychelles-based affiliate Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd. pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in the United States and agreed to pay over $504 million in penalties and forfeitures, following DOJ findings that the platform processed more than $1 trillion in U.S. customer transactions and facilitated over $5 billion in suspicious transactions. Despite its post-settlement compliance commitments, OKX has faced concurrent regulatory actions in Malta and the EU, alleged exploitation of its DEX aggregator by North Korea's Lazarus Group to launder Bybit hack proceeds, and an ICIJ investigation finding continued flows from sanctioned entities after the guilty plea.
Timeline(19 events)
2017-01-01
OKX (then OKEx) officially launches; OKB token is issued by the OK Blockchain Foundation as the exchange's utility token.
OKX Official2018-01-01
OKX begins serving U.S. retail and institutional customers despite official policy barring U.S. persons, per DOJ findings. OKX employees allegedly advise U.S. customers to enter false country and ID information.
DOJ Press Release2022-11-01
OKX introduces mandatory KYC for new accounts; prior to this, users could trade anonymously with no identity verification.
DOJ Press Release2024-01-23
OKB token suffers a 48–50% flash crash in under 15 minutes, losing approximately $6.5 billion in diluted market cap. OKX attributes the crash to a leveraged liquidation cascade and pledges to compensate affected users.
CoinDesk2024-02-24
CFTC issues a subpoena to OKcoin referencing fraud and illegal activities tied to digital asset transactions, in connection with the January 2024 OKB flash crash.
CoinDesk2024-05-01
U.S. Treasury designates Huione Group a 'primary money laundering concern' under the Bank Secrecy Act. ICIJ later documents continued flows from Huione into OKX accounts after this date.
ICIJ: Coin Laundry2024-06-09
Two OKX user accounts are drained via SIM swap attacks utilizing forged judicial documents; millions of dollars in user assets are stolen. OKX later compensates affected users.
The Block2025-01-01
OKX's Malta entity OKCoin Europe secures a MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) license, one of the first crypto exchanges to do so.
Finance Magnates2025-02-24
Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd. (OKX's Seychelles affiliate) pleads guilty in U.S. federal court to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Total penalty: $504+ million ($420.3M forfeiture + $84.4M fine). OKX agrees to a court-mandated compliance consultant through February 2027.
DOJ / CoinDesk2025-03-17
OKX temporarily suspends its DEX aggregator service following EU regulatory scrutiny over alleged use by the Lazarus Group to launder approximately $100 million from the February 2025 Bybit hack ($1.5B total theft).
Bleeping Computer / CryptoCoin News2025-04-03
Malta's Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) fines OKCoin Europe 1.05 million euros ($1.2M) for 'serious and systematic' AML breaches identified in a 2023 compliance review.
CoinDesk / Bloomberg2025-04-15
OKX relaunches in the U.S. market two months after the DOJ settlement, opening a regional headquarters in San Jose, California and appointing Roshan Robert as U.S. CEO.
Fortune2025-08-01
Philippines SEC names OKX among ten unregistered crypto exchanges subject to enforcement, including potential website blocks through internet service providers.
CoinDesk2025-08-05
OKX completes the X Layer 'PP upgrade' integrating the latest Polygon CDK technology, boosting throughput to 5,000 TPS.
OKX Official Announcement2025-08-22
OKX burns 65.26 million OKB tokens in a one-time event, establishing a permanent hard cap of 21 million OKB. OKB reaches its all-time high price of $258.60.
The Block / CoinTelegraph2025-10-01
Following ICIJ inquiry, OKX announces it has 'paused all interactions between OKX wallets and Huione' after ICIJ documented continued fund flows from the sanctioned Huione Group into OKX accounts months after the DOJ guilty plea.
ICIJ: Coin Laundrymodel: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/13/2026, 3:32:27 AM
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