EU Investigating OKX for Alleged $100 Million Laundering in Bybit Hacking Case

# OKX Denies EU Investigation Amid Allegations of Involvement in Bybit Hack Early Tuesday, OKX, a cryptocurrency exchange, publicly denied any ongoing investigation by the European Union (EU) related to allegations of facilitating the laundering of $100 million from the Bybit hack. Cointelegraph reported this development after Bloomberg broke the news last week. ## EU Authorities Discuss Allegations On March 11, Bloomberg reported that the European Securities and Markets Authority's (ESMA) Standing Committee on Digital Finance convened on March 6 to discuss the issue with national regulators from EU member states. The focus was on OKX's decentralized finance platform and wallet services. ## OKX Secures MiCA License On January 27, OKX announced it had fully obtained a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license, enabling it to operate across EU member states under a unified regulatory framework. This situation raises questions among EU regulators about whether OKX's services fall under the MiCA framework and whether penalties might be warranted if rules were breached. ## Allegations from Bybit CEO Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated that nearly $100 million, equivalent to 40,233 Ethereum, was laundered through OKX’s Web3 proxy service out of the $1.5 billion hacked. Some of these funds have reportedly become untraceable. ## Scope of OKX's Wallet Service OKX's wallet service now reaches 53 million addresses and can connect to 100 blockchains. While its fully decentralized platform might be exempt from MiCA regulations, Bloomberg noted that at least Austrian and Croatian regulators believe OKX's Web3 service should comply with EU rules. # OKX Denies Allegations In a statement posted on X, OKX rebuffed accusations of being under EU investigation, contending, "Bybit's statements are spreading misinformation," and defended their Web3 wallet service. Haider Rafique, Chief Marketing Officer of OKX Global, added his perspective: “We have been in discussions with Bloomberg today, providing our stance countering some of the alleged claims. The notion that our company was involved in laundering stolen funds is absurd.” The theft of Ethereum and related tokens worth $1.5 billion marks one of the largest cryptocurrency hacks to date. Crypto investigators identified the North Korean hacking group Lazarus as responsible. Following the hack, Zhou declared war on the Lazarus Group and noted that 3% of the stolen funds have been frozen while 20% remain lost.