The OKEx exchange, whose users have not been able to access their assets for almost two weeks, claims that the information that appeared on the network about its methods of storing cryptocurrencies is not true.
Previously, an excerpt from what is believed to be the Jinse Caijing publication was distributed to users. It said that OKEx used a wallet with only one signature to store bitcoin. Currently, there is no such publication on the Jinse Caijing website. The withdrawal of funds from OKEx was stopped at the same time as the news that its founder Star Xu was detained by the police.
A representative of OKEx, commenting on the information in a conversation with Decrypt, said that they can not disclose details, as this may compromise the security of their users ' assets. At the same time, he referred to OKEx's August report on the 51% attack on the Ethereum Classic cryptocurrency network, which described the process of withdrawing funds from the exchange. It said that it uses a "semi-offline multi-signature model"for its hot wallets.
According to the same report, 95% of funds on the exchange are in cold wallets. The description of how cold wallets work on the OKEx website States that when creating private keys, they are encrypted using the AES method, and "the AES password is controlled by two OKEx employees in different locations: one is located in the OKEx office in Beijing, and the other is located in a city on the West coast of the United States."
When OKEx needs to approve a withdrawal, Its employees go to a Bank near the office and receive the required number of unused encrypted private keys, and a person who knows the AES master password decrypts them.
"One of the private key holders is currently cooperating with the public security Bureau," OKEx previously stated. – We have no connection with the mentioned private key holder. Therefore, the corresponding authorization cannot be completed."