OKX Denies Freezing Funds After Tron Hack, Citing Lack of Official Request
1min read OKX CEO Star Xu has responded to allegations made by tron founder Justin Sun, who claimed that the exchange failed to comply with a law enforcement request to freeze stolen funds following a hack of Tron’s official X account on May 3. According to Sun, the attacker compromised Tron’s X account, posted a malicious smart contract address, sent direct messages, and engaged with unfamiliar accounts. Sun alleged that OKX ignored a “freeze notice” from law enforcement and that the exchange had been contacted via official email but had not responded, leaving him with “no other way” to reach OKX’s compliance team.
“These stolen funds do not belong to me; I’m acting to protect the community,” Sun claimed. However, Star Xu dismissed the allegations, stating that OKX has a consumer protection policy governed by law. “We can’t freeze a customer’s funds based on your personal X post or oral communication. As the CEO of HTX, I think you should understand this,” Xu wrote on X. Xu also mentioned that OKX’s law enforcement (LE) cooperation team reviewed its email accounts, including spam folders, and found no official request related to the case. “Our LE cooperation team just checked the email, including the spam box; we haven’t received any request related with this case,” he said. Xu further challenged Sun to share evidence of the alleged freeze notice, including the time and source of the request.
The incident highlights the growing concern over social media hacks in the crypto space. On March 15, Yu Hu, founder of crypto AI platform Kaito, had his account hijacked to spread false warnings about compromised wallets. Similarly, on Feb. 26, the Pump.fun X account was compromised to promote a fake governance token. In another instance, UK MP Lucy Powell’s X account was hacked on April 15 to promote a scam token.
This dispute between OKX and Justin Sun underscores the complexities and challenges faced by crypto exchanges in handling security breaches and complying with law enforcement requests. The incident also raises questions about the effectiveness of communication between exchanges and law enforcement agencies, as well as the need for clearer protocols and guidelines in such situations.
