OKX Exchange Agrees to Pay $500 Million Fine to Settle with DOJ

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Key Points:

OKX exchange settled with U.S. authorities for over $500 million after failing to register as a money transmitter.
Authorities accused OKX of facilitating illicit transactions and advising users on evading regulations.

OKX exchange has reached a settlement with U.S. authorities over its failure to obtain a license as a money transmitter.

The settlement, announced on Monday, involves $500 million in financial penalties and marks another major regulatory action in the crypto industry.

OKX Exchange Settles $500 Million Case Over Licensing Violations

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Aux Cayes FinTech, an OKX affiliate, agreed to pay over $500 million in penalties and forfeitures. The penalties includes a criminal forfeiture of $420.3 million, representing fees earned from U.S.-based customers, and an $84.4 million criminal fine.

Federal officials stated that the company permitted illicit transactions to occur on its platform, failing to enforce proper compliance measures.

Authorities said OKX exchange actively sought U.S. customers despite not being licensed to operate in the country. FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy criticized the exchange for its actions:

“For years, OKX flagrantly violated U.S. law, actively seeking customers in the United States—including here in New York—and even going so far as to advise individuals to provide false information to circumvent requisite procedures,” Dennehy said.

The DOJ outlined that these violations spanned seven years, from 2018 to early 2024, during which OKX facilitated over $1 trillion in U.S.-based transactions without proper registration as a money services business.

Although OKX did not voluntarily disclose its violations, the company cooperated with the investigation, which led to a 25% reduction in the agreed-upon fine. Prosecutors noted that the firm had begun implementing remedial measures since 2022.

SEC Eases Some Enforcement as OKX Settles Case

Founded in 2017 by entrepreneur Star Xu, OKX exchange initially operated under the name OKEx before rebranding in 2022. It remains one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges by daily trading volume.

The case against OKX follows a broader crackdown on crypto firms by U.S. regulators. In a similar settlement, Binance, the world’s largest exchange, agreed to pay $4.3 billion over regulatory violations.

The OKX settlement comes as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to be scaling back its enforcement actions against crypto firms.

On Monday, online brokerage Robinhood disclosed that the SEC had closed an investigation into its digital asset sales. Additionally, last week, Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based crypto exchange, announced that the SEC had agreed to dismiss a lawsuit alleging it sold unregistered securities.

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