Key Highlights:
- One of the X users raised a complaint on X about OKX freezing their four accounts.
- Star Xu said compliance rules override social media pressure.
- The user accepted fault and apologized to the exchange.
On January 11, 2026, an X user named captain0bunny posted a tweet that triggered a huge amount of hate and anger online. According to the user and his tweet, he claimed that 40,000 USDT held in USDG had been frozen across four OKX accounts, and called the funds, “life-saving money” that he urgently needed.
The user also posted that he had been a loyal exchange user for 12 years now. He had seen the exchange change from OKCoin, to OKEx and finally to OKX. He also holds OKB tokens and believes that OKX is one of the best Chinese exchanges out there and ranked Binance second best Chinese exchange.
The situation escalated when he revealed that there had been a family emergency. His father reportedly suffered a workplace accident, losing three fingers in a machinery accident and he urgently needed money for his father’s surgery. The frozen funds, he said, were earned over time and meant to pay for the medical expenses.
This combination where the funds have been frozen, personal loyalty to OKX and medical crisis fueled strong emotional reactions and public outrage on social media.
https://t.co/aSW6zFwWGk
— 小兔叽叽 (@captain0bunny) January 11, 2026
Risky Account Purchases and Frozen Deposits
Further details showed that in late 2023, after not being able to join OKX Jumpstart events from mainland China, the user bought four third-party KYC OKX accounts. The accounts were said to be inactive till November 2025 and in the same month he moved 10,000 USDG into each of these accounts so that he could participate in the exchange’s USDG promotion offering up to 10% APY.
When he tried to withdraw the funds, that’s when the user realised that the accounts were frozen, and the exchange requested selfie verification from the registered account holders. The user later admitted to buying the accounts and said he submitted on-chain proof and account access details, offering to accept audits, penalties, or loss of interest.
OKX Founder Defends Account Freeze
OKX founder Star Xu later responded to the tweet and rejected the users call to unfreeze the accounts due to social media pressure. He said that ignoring registered KYC identities based on emotional claims violate anti-money laundering and anti-fraud laws and put user assets at risk.
In his post, the founder also added that the account trading clearly breaches the exchange’s service agreement which is why the accounts were frozen in the first place and facial verifications were triggered.
Star even said that the exchange would only consider moving further if three conditions were met. The conditions put forward included registered account holder to formally give up his ownership of the accounts and the assets, the account is not subject to any legal freezes, law enforcement investigations or compliance risks, and the user provides verifiable proof of funds that meets regulatory standards.
The founder also stressed that emotional appeals or online pressure cannot change compliance decisions and that he will not make non-compliant exceptions.
试想这样一种情况：如果你购买了他人的账户，而原账户持有人随后能够提供身份证明等有效、完整的身份信息，并明确主张该账户归其所有，同时要求平台重置账户登录、提币等权限——在这种情况下，OKX应当相信能够证明账户身份的一方，还是无法提供任何身份信息、仅凭个人主张的一方？… https://t.co/ICIbV9mPPT
— Star (@star_okx) January 12, 2026
User’s Follow Up
In a later post, the user thanked his supporters and crypto KOL’s and clarified that on-chain staking caused his liquidity issues and that he did not need fundraising help.
He said he would contact the registered KYC account holders through legal channels following what Star Xu suggested and he even promised to donate half of any recovered funds to charity.
update：
大家的评论我都看了，有关心安慰，也有中肯的意见，再次表示感谢！我的数字资产都在链上质押，短时难以赎回，造成短时流动性紧张。不需要大家救助，也不需要起号。
我将根据@star_okx…
— 小兔叽叽 (@captain0bunny) January 12, 2026
He accepted responsibility for the compliance mistake, apologized publicly to the exchange and its official accounts and said that he trusted the exchange’s integrity. He ended the post saying that he would treat the loss like a liquidation and move ahead.
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