Chilean cryptocurrency exchange Orionx has started permanently winding down its operations after a forensic audit found that more than $7 million in custodial assets had been moved to wallets outside the company's control.

Withdrawals are temporarily suspended as the exchange reconciles customer balances and carries out a five-stage closure and asset-restitution plan. Full repayment is not guaranteed: available assets are expected to be distributed under equal and proportional treatment, rather than giving priority to customers who withdraw earlier. The case is a reminder that when an exchange — rather than the customer — holds the private keys to funds, recovery in a failure scenario depends on the company's remaining assets and legal process, not on blockchain guarantees.

Bitcoin Represents the Largest Share of the Confirmed Shortfall

The forensic reconciliation uncovered discrepancies across Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and Polygon, with internal records showing balances that exceeded the assets verifiable at Orionx-controlled blockchain addresses. That kind of gap — where internal ledgers no longer match on-chain holdings — is typically only confirmed through forensic blockchain analysis, which is how collapses such as FTX and Mt. Gex were ultimately quantified after customer withdrawals stalled.

Bitcoin accounted for roughly $3.93 million of the gap, followed by approximately $2.29 million in Ether and $762,017 in XRP. Polygon represented only about $201 in the detailed reconciliation. Together, the four assets produced an identified loss of nearly $6.07 million, while the broader custody discrepancy exceeds $7 million and additional assets remain under examination.

On September 2, Orionx filed a criminal complaint against its co-founders — Roberto Zibert, the former chief executive, and Joaquín Díaz, the former chief technology officer. The complaint accuses them of involvement in movements of company-controlled assets between 2018 and 2021, including transfers into accounts at other crypto platforms. The alleged movements predate the current Fintech Law regime, meaning any accountability will be pursued through Chile's courts rather than through exchange-specific regulation.

According to the filing, one identified Binance account received 187 ETH, more than 4.14 million USDT and 200,000 USDC from an Orionx cold wallet, while another account linked to Díaz received more than $1.5 million across 14 transactions. Zibert and Díaz have rejected the accusations, maintaining that they did not act against customer interests. No court ruling has been issued and the allegations remain unproven.

Chilean Regulator Will Not Oversee Customer Restitution

Orionx entered the shutdown without authorization under Chile's Fintech Law, the framework that since 2023 has required crypto-service providers to register with the CMF and meet custody, capital and governance requirements. The Financial Market Commission (CMF) rejected the company's registration and operating application on June 19, 2026, ending a transitional regime that had allowed Orionx to continue operating while its application was under review.

The CMF does not supervise Orionx and cannot administer its closure or order the return of customer assets. As a result, users remain dependent on the company's own restitution process and any remedies available through Chilean courts. Chile has one of the higher crypto adoption rates in Latin America, and the outcome of Orionx's wind-down is likely to be watched as an early test of how unregistered platform failures play out for retail users under the new regime.

The collapse comes 15 months after Tether led Orionx's Series A investment round in June 2025, part of an expansion into stablecoin payments and financial infrastructure across Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico. Tether has not publicly commented on the closure in the material reviewed for this article.

Crypto Wind-Downs Put Withdrawals Back in Focus

Orionx joins a series of crypto businesses that have recently moved into full closure, though the causes differ significantly. AscendEX ceased operations in July after regulatory, financial and operational pressure pushed withdrawals into manual review.

Infrastructure projects are also shutting down as operating economics tighten. Coinbase Ventures-backed Router Protocol is closing its remaining cross-chain services by September 30 and burning 303.3 million treasury ROUTE tokens after bridge revenue failed to sustain operations.

Orionx remains in stage one of its five-stage closure process, with withdrawals suspended and no guarantee that customers will recover 100% of their balances. Key milestones ahead include the progression through the remaining closure stages, the publication of any further reconciliation findings for assets still under examination, and developments in the criminal complaint against the co-founders.

Source: Crypto Adventure