Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
-
Bloomberg has revealed in its report that crypto exchange OKX risks losing its MiCA license as the EU is probing the use of its Web3 tools in laundering Bybit hack funds.
-
OKX has claimed that the regulators are not currently investigating the company.
OKX Risks Losing MiCA License
EU regulators are reportedly investigating OKX's decentralized trading and self-custody offerings for possible use in laundering from the $1.5 billion Bybit hack by North Korea's Lazarus Group.
This is according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, citing sources close to the matter. Bloomberg added that the regulators discussed OKX at a European Securities and Markets Authority’s Digital Finance Standing Committee meeting on March 6,
Several agencies, including regulators from across the EU's 27 member nations, and watchdogs like the European Securities and Markets Authority and European Banking Authority were at the meeting, the report added.
At the meeting, the regulators reportedly raised concerns about OKX’s Web3 tools and whether they are against the European Union's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) guidelines. However, some regulators allegedly claimed that crypto exchanges’ Web3 service should be encompassed by the MiCA regulation.
OKX denied the allegations that authorities are investigating it. Bloomberg revealed that OKX could lose its MiCA license if European regulators found it guilty.
The Bloomberg article is misleading. Like all other major crypto exchanges, OKX provides a self-custody wallet service/swap feature that serves as an aggregator to create efficiency for the users. When Bybit got hacked, we reacted in two ways. (1) We froze associated funds moving… https://t.co/HUUmA8W2eq
— OKX (@okx) March 11, 2025
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou revealed earlier this month that roughly $100 million in assets moved through OKX's web3 platforms. The Lazarus Group has so far used several protocols and mixers to move the stolen funds.
While commenting on the Bloomberg article, OKX CEO Xu Mingxing said there is little the exchange can do to assist in rescuing funds since OKX Web3 wallet is a pure self-custody software.
"I can’t understand why bybit keeps making this ridiculous statement without showing understanding of basic facts about self custody technology," Mingxing added.
OKX Web3 wallet is a pure self custody software, as everybody knows. OKX DEX is a DEX aggregator and provides people with the cheapest routes to various DEXs. It’s exactly the same product offered by a lot of popular web3 companies.
— Star (@star_okx) March 11, 2025
According to Bloomberg report, bybit appears… https://t.co/M8s1IQ2eHF
OKX added that it froze Bybit-associated funds flowing into its centralized exchange and collaborated with law enforcement and Bybit's legal team. The OKX CEO also it offered technical support to Bybit researchers and built a tool to track the hacker’s latest addresses in real-time.
One of the world's leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Bybit, suffered a $1.5 billion hack in February. It was the largest hack in the crypto market's history, and North Korea’s Lazarus Group was behind it.
