Orionx Halted Amid $7M Financial Hole, Founding Partners Under Fire

Chile is facing its biggest crypto crisis yet after Orionx, a Chile-based exchange founded in 2017, halted operations due to a $7 million financial hole discovered through a forensic audit.

The audit found that two of Orionx's founding partners, Joaquín Díaz and Roberto Zibert, along with other former employees, were allegedly aware of and involved in transactions that led to the asset-liability mismatch.

Orionx has paused user withdrawals and warned that there is no guarantee users will retrieve 100% of their funds. The company has also reported the findings to the national Public Prosecutor's Office and filed a criminal complaint against the former executives.

The Financial Market Commission (CMF) noted that Orionx was not authorized to offer cryptocurrency financial services, as its request for authorization was rejected in July.