OKEx blowout exposes soft underbelly of lightly regulated cryptocurrency transactions

How the bad example of Hong Kong-based trading venue, the world’s second-largest digital exchange, shows just what a minefield crypto can be

A bitcoin automated teller machine in Hong Kong. Photo: AP

In late July, an unidentified trader took up an unusually large position of 4.16 million bitcoin futures listed on Hong Kong-based OKEx, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency venues.

The position, with a total notional value of US$416 million (HK$3.26 billion), triggered the risk management system at OKEx, setting off a chain of events that ultimately left futures traders with unrealised gains to give up about 18 per cent of their profits, according to calculations by Bloomberg.

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