TLDR
- Chilean crypto exchange Orionx is permanently closing after a forensic audit found over $7 million in customer assets moved to external wallets
- Withdrawals have been suspended, leaving more than 100,000 registered users uncertain about their funds
- Criminal complaints were filed against co-founders Joaquín Díaz and Roberto Zibert, who deny wrongdoing
- The alleged transfers occurred between 2018 and 2021, covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Polygon holdings
- Tether had led Orionx’s Series A funding round in June 2025, just 15 months before the exchange collapsed
Orionx, one of Chile’s largest crypto exchanges, is shutting down permanently after a forensic audit revealed more than $7 million in customer assets had been moved to wallets outside the platform’s control.
Tether-Backed Chilean Crypto Exchange Orionx Shuts Down After $7M+ Asset Shortfall
Chilean crypto exchange Orionx has begun a permanent shutdown after a forensic audit found that more than $7 million in customer assets had been transferred to wallets outside the company’s… pic.twitter.com/DtmTz74XxB
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 6, 2026
The exchange announced the closure on September 3, 2026, and immediately suspended withdrawals. Over 100,000 registered users are now waiting to find out if they will get their money back.
How the Shortfall Was Discovered
Orionx’s chief operating officer, Thomas Mac Millan, detected a mismatch between account balances in the exchange’s internal systems and the assets actually held in custody on August 27.
An internal review followed, and the company then commissioned an external forensic audit. That audit compared internal records against on-chain data and confirmed the gap.
The missing assets include Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Polygon. The total shortfall exceeded $7 million.
The alleged transfers reportedly happened between 2018 and 2021, meaning the exchange may have been operating with missing customer funds for years before detection.
Orionx filed criminal complaints against two of its co-founders, Joaquín Díaz and Roberto Zibert, the day before going public with the closure announcement.
The complaint alleges that a wallet linked to Díaz received more than $1.5 million across 14 separate transfers. Another wallet allegedly received 187 Ether, over 4.1 million USDT, and 200,000 USDC.
Both Díaz and Zibert denied the allegations. They said they never acted against customers’ interests and that the real cause of the shortfall remains unclear.
Tether’s Involvement and Regulatory Rejection
Tether led Orionx’s Series A funding round in June 2025. The investment was meant to expand stablecoin services and digital dollar adoption across Latin America.
Orionx had been operating in Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico since launching in 2017.
The closure also follows a regulatory setback. Chile’s Financial Market Commission rejected Orionx’s license application in June 2026, confirming the exchange had been running without proper authorization under Chile’s Fintech Law.
The regulator has said it will not oversee the closure or any restitution process. Orionx says it is managing the situation on its own.
The exchange has outlined a phased plan to return assets to users but has not guaranteed that all customers will be fully repaid.
Tether has not publicly commented on the closure. Cointelegraph reported that neither Tether nor Orionx responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
