Chilean cryptocurrency exchange Orionx is permanently shutting down after a forensic review identified more than $7 million of customer assets transferred to wallets outside the exchange’s custody.
Orionx said withdrawals have been temporarily suspended while it works to recover and return as much customer property as possible. The company has also filed a criminal complaint against former executives and co-founders Roberto Zibert and JoaquÃn DÃaz; both have denied wrongdoing.
According to local reporting cited by Cointelegraph, the disputed transfers occurred between 2018 and 2021. The issue was uncovered only after a forensic audit.
The institutional connection raises the profile of the collapse. Tether led Orionx’s Series A financing round in June 2025 as part of its expansion strategy in Latin America.
The situation underscores a recurring crypto-industry vulnerability: an exchange can appear solvent externally while underlying custody records and actual wallet balances diverge.
That risk is particularly difficult for retail customers to detect because users generally see database balances inside an exchange interface rather than cryptographic proof of every asset being held.
TOKEN RECON ASSESSMENT
The biggest lesson here is not Orionx’s size.
It is custody verification.
Crypto companies can publish licenses, investors and brand partnerships. None of those substitute for verifiable asset controls.
Watch for the forensic audit findings, recovery percentage, criminal proceedings and whether Tether takes additional action regarding its investment.
