OKEx Bitcoin outflows spiked shortly after withdrawals resumed

TL:DR Breakdown:

• OKEx Bitcoin outflows surged to levels last seen in May 2019, just after the withdrawal service was restored.
• Some of the coins were moved to Binance and other exchanges, including hardware wallets.

Some weeks ago, the leading Malta-based digital currency exchange, OKEx, halted crypto assets withdrawal amid the absence of its private key holder, which reports claimed was the founder, Star Xu. Following his return, the exchange reopened all assets withdrawal function today, as earlier informed. However, the rate of OKEx Bitcoin outflows from the exchange surged incredibly, shortly after the doors were opened.

According to reports, about 2,822 BTC worth about $48.7 million at the current price of $17,269 was moved from the exchange within a few minutes after the withdrawal services were resumed. Data from CryptoQuant, an on-chain analytics platform, showed that the OKEx Bitcoin outflows were the largest single-block outflow last seen after May 2019. 

#OKEx stats

– OKex BTC Reserve: 101,686 => 98,821 BTC
– 2,822 BTC outflows has been occurred
– 446 BTC moved to #Binance
– 54 Accounts withdrew their $BTC

Source: https://t.co/tAPwJdhpw4 pic.twitter.com/dkWOsQh8ZZ

— Mason Jang (@mason_jang) November 26, 2020

Asides from the collapsing price of Bitcoin, the surge in OKEx Bitcoin outflows somewhat suggests that the users are still panicking.

OKEx Bitcoin outflows spiked to May 2019 level

The suspension of the withdrawal service on October 16 got most of the exchange users worried about the safety of their coins. The announcement caused a big drop in the price of the exchange’s native token, dubbed OKB Coin. Having been locked out of their cryptos for over one month, the users seems to be switching to other exchange, as seen with the Bitcoin transfers. 

About 456 Bitcoins were reportedly transferred to the leading exchange, Binance alone, while other exchanges gained about 400 Bitcoins. Some of the coins were also moved to about 54 addresses for direct custody. Note that OKEx isn’t the only company experiencing huge outflows of Bitcoin. Before the resumption, about $1.1 billion in Bitcoin were moved off from exchanges within the past 24 hours.