Chilean exchange Orionx halts withdrawals and winds down after forensic audit uncovers $7M+ in missing customer assets moved to uncontrolled wallets.
Regulation & Gov ·
Orionx, a Santiago-based cryptocurrency exchange, announced permanent closure on September 3 following discovery of a custody shortfall exceeding $7 million. The platform immediately halted all withdrawals, affecting more than 100,000 registered users. A forensic audit comparing internal records against blockchain data identified gaps between account balances and actual exchange holdings across Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, and Polygon's POL token. The day before announcing the shutdown, Orionx filed criminal charges against co-founders Joaquín Díaz and Roberto Zibert and other former employees, alleging unauthorized asset transfers occurring between 2018 and 2021. Both founders have denied wrongdoing.
The missing funds were transferred to external addresses lacking proper authorization. Orionx has outlined a phased restitution strategy but explicitly stated it cannot guarantee complete recovery for users, with the process still in early phases and no independent confirmation of whether transferred assets remain recoverable.
Chile's Financial Market Commission rejected Orionx's license application on June 19, 2026, more than 15 months after the exchange's permanent closure announcement—indicating the platform never operated under formal domestic financial supervision. Tether had been the sole investor in Orionx's Series A round in June 2025, 15 months before the shutdown. Questions remain about asset recovery timelines and whether any transferred funds can be located or returned.