Orionx shuts down and sues its own co-founders after $7 million vanishes from customer wallets

Orionx, the Tether-backed Chilean cryptocurrency exchange, announced on September 3, 2026 that it would shut down after a forensic audit found more than $7 million in client assets had been moved to wallets outside the company’s control.

Orionx has since suspended withdrawals, notified Chilean authorities, and filed a criminal complaint against its own co-founders, Joaquín Díaz and Roberto Zibert, asking prosecutors to investigate the missing funds.

The Orionx shutdown represents a significant disruption for customers whose cryptocurrency was held on the platform, although the company said its immediate priority is to pursue restitution rather than simply terminate its operations.

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Orionx shutdown follows forensic audit

According to Orionx, the decision to close followed the completion of a forensic audit into its custody accounts.

The investigation reportedly identified discrepancies involving several major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP and Polygon (POL). The exchange cautioned that its review remains ongoing and that it has not yet determined whether discrepancies exist in other digital assets.

The company said the audit established that cryptocurrency worth more than $7 million had been transferred from assets held in custody to wallets that were not controlled or administered by Orionx.

That finding became the central issue behind the Orionx shutdown, as the exchange moved to halt normal operations while attempting to establish what happened to the assets and how much can ultimately be recovered for customers.

Orionx said it has already informed the relevant authorities about its asset situation and its proposed restitution process. The company added that the first stage of the plan is already being implemented.

The exchange said its objective is to return the greatest possible amount of client assets as quickly and fairly as possible.

Withdrawals suspended as investigation continues

As part of the Orionx shutdown, the exchange temporarily suspended customer withdrawals.

Orionx said the suspension was intended to prevent some customers from withdrawing their assets before others could do so. In its view, maintaining a temporary freeze would help ensure that customers do not gain an advantage over one another while the company works through the restitution process.

The decision is likely to be particularly important given the nature of the discrepancies identified during the audit. Because the reported shortfall involves multiple cryptocurrencies, the exchange must determine the extent of the deficit and establish how the affected assets will be handled.

The company has not indicated that the $7 million figure necessarily represents the final amount involved. Its warning that other cryptocurrencies are still being examined leaves open the possibility that the scope of the discrepancy could change as the investigation progresses.

The Orionx shutdown is therefore unfolding alongside an active review of the exchange’s cryptocurrency holdings, rather than as a simple voluntary closure.

Founders deny allegations and call for independent probe

The Orionx shutdown has also triggered a dispute between the company and its co-founders.

Orionx said it had filed a criminal complaint against Joaquín Díaz and Roberto Zibert with Chile’s Public Prosecutor’s Office. The exchange is seeking an official investigation into the transfer of the assets identified by the forensic audit.

Díaz and Zibert have denied the allegations and, according to local reporting cited in the original account, said they have cooperated with the company since the issue first emerged.

The former executives also questioned whether the company’s accounting situation had been sufficiently established to support definitive conclusions.

“To date, there is no certainty or clarity regarding the company’s accounting discrepancies,” — Joaquín Díaz and Roberto Zibert, Orionx co-founders.

The pair said an independent investigation would be necessary to determine what actually occurred.

That position puts the founders at odds with the company’s current account of the situation. While Orionx has pointed to the forensic audit and reported transfers to external wallets, Díaz and Zibert maintain that the underlying facts remain unclear.

The competing claims are likely to become an important part of the official investigation.

What the Orionx shutdown means for customers

For customers, the immediate consequence of the Orionx shutdown is the loss of normal access to withdrawals while the exchange works through its asset recovery and restitution process.

Orionx said the temporary restriction was designed to preserve fairness among customers rather than allow those able to withdraw first to potentially recover their funds ahead of others.

The exchange’s stated priority is restitution.

“[Our] sole priority right now is to work toward returning the largest possible amount of their assets to the clients in the fastest and fairest way possible,” — Orionx.

The company said its restitution plan has already been presented to authorities and that implementation of its first phase has begun.

However, the ultimate recovery available to customers remains uncertain. The forensic audit identified more than $7 million in assets transferred to wallets outside Orionx’s administration, while the review of other cryptocurrencies is still continuing.