Chilean cryptocurrency exchange Orionx has begun permanently closing its operations after a forensic audit identified more than $7 million in custodial assets that had moved to wallets outside the company’s control.
Withdrawals are temporarily suspended while Orionx reconciles customer balances and implements a five-stage closure and asset-restitution process. Full repayment is not guaranteed, with available assets expected to be distributed under equal and proportional treatment rather than allowing earlier withdrawals to receive priority.
The forensic reconciliation identified discrepancies across Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and Polygon, where balances recorded internally exceeded assets that could be verified at Orionx-controlled blockchain addresses.
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. The four assets produced an identified loss near $6.07 million, while the broader custody discrepancy exceeds $7 million and additional assets remain under examination.
Orionx filed a criminal complaint on September 2 against co-founders Roberto Zibert, its former chief executive, and Joaquín Díaz, its former chief technology officer. The action accuses them of involvement in movements of company-controlled assets between 2018 and 2021, including transfers into accounts at other crypto platforms.
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.
Orionx entered the shutdown without authorization under Chile’s Fintech Law. The Financial Market Commission rejected its registration and operating application on June 19, 2026, ending the transitional regime that had previously allowed the company to continue operating while its application was reviewed.
The CMF does not supervise Orionx and cannot administer its closure or order the return of customer assets. Users therefore remain dependent on the company’s restitution process and any remedies available through Chilean courts.
The collapse comes 15 months after Tether led Orionx’s Series A investment round in June 2025 as part of an expansion into stablecoin payments and financial infrastructure across Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico.
Orionx joins several crypto businesses that have recently moved into full closure, although the causes differ substantially. AscendEX ceased operations in July after regulatory, financial and operational pressure pushed withdrawals into manual review.
Infrastructure projects are also disappearing 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 after bridge revenue failed to support continued 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.
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