OKX seizes 2M USDT linked to market manipulation


In accordance with a press launch revealed by cryptocurrency trade OKX on Feb. 28, the agency mentioned that it seized 2,014,381 Tether (USDT) from 5 accounts suspected of partaking in “malicious market manipulation,” of the Celestial (CELT) token. As advised by OKX, on Feb. 26, Celestial builders introduced the creation of a brand new blockchain sport. Shortly afterwards, the Celestial builders allegedly launched a social media marketing campaign selling the brand new sport utilizing OKX’s branding, which the agency says was unauthorized. As a partial results of the actions, the CELT token practically doubled in worth inside two days’ time earlier than falling over 50% prior to now 24 hours to $0.002129 on the time of publication. 

In response to consumer allegations of insider buying and selling, OKX defined that the trade, by its subsidiary OKX Ventures, invested $100,000 into the Celestial GameFi challenge in Sept. 2021. Nonetheless, the trade said that the CELT tokens it obtained have been deposited into OKX Ventures’ accounts “with none transactions,” and “no proof” of insider buying and selling involving OKX workers was discovered as per its investigation.

Nonetheless, the trade froze 714,381 USDT from 5 accounts suspected of market manipulation and claimed Celestial would return 1.3 million USDT linked to such actions which have since left the trade. As outlined by OKX, the agency will allocate 1 million USDT, together with 2,014,381 USDT obtained by seizure, for a mixed restitution of three,014,381 USDT to be airdropped to affected customers. Customers are eligible for the airdrop in the event that they bought CELT tokens between Feb. 25, 12 AM Hong Kong Time (HKT) to Feb. 28, 12 AM HKT, and suffered losses. Because of the complexity of the Airdrop, OKX says it should publish particulars inside the subsequent 48 hours.

The CELT token noticed wild buying and selling periods earlier than and after the announcement of a brand new blockchain sport. | Supply: (CoinMarketCap)