Orionx Shuts Down
Chilean Cryptocurrency Exchange Orionx Shuts Down Following Seven Million Dollar Asset Shortfall
Anonymous
Key Points
1
Orionx received a Series A investment from Tether in June 2025, about 15 months before announcing its collapse.
2
Chief Operating Officer Thomas Mac Millan reportedly identified discrepancies between the balances recorded in Orionx’s database and the cryptocurrency reserves in its custody wallets on Aug. 27, prompting an internal review and later an examination by independent forensic specialists.
3
Orionx publicly announced the shutdown and froze withdrawals on Sept. 3, 2026; customers were advised to preserve records of their account balances and transaction histories to support the restitution process.
4
The criminal complaint naming Roberto Zibert and JoaquÃn DÃaz was filed with Chile’s Public Prosecutor’s Office on Sept. 2, 2026, according to Orionx’s announcement.
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Orionx has not provided a recovery timetable, and no independent third party has confirmed where the missing assets are located.
Chilean cryptocurrency exchange Orionx is permanently shutting down after a forensic audit uncovered more than $7 million in missing customer assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Polygon. Crypto Briefing reported that withdrawals have been frozen for over 100,000 users while the company works to recover funds and develop a restitution plan, though full recovery is not guaranteed.
The exchange, which received a Series A investment from Tether in June 2025, announced the shutdown on September 3, 2026, after Chief Operating Officer Thomas Mac Millan discovered discrepancies between account balances in Orionx's database and actual cryptocurrency reserves in custody wallets on August 27. Startup Fortune noted that the company has filed criminal complaints against co-founders Roberto Zibert and JoaquÃn DÃaz over transfers allegedly made between 2018 and 2021, though both deny involvement.
How the Shortfall Was Discovered
Orionx's internal review began on August 27 when COO Thomas Mac Millan identified mismatches between the exchange's database records and the actual cryptocurrency holdings in its custody wallets. CrowdFunder Insider reported that the company immediately launched a deeper examination with independent forensic specialists to determine the scale of the problem.
One week later, on September 3, 2026, Orionx publicly announced the permanent closure and froze all customer withdrawals. The company instructed users to preserve records of account balances and transaction histories to support the upcoming restitution process, signaling that recovery efforts would take time.
Criminal Investigation Into Co-Founder Transfers
On September 2, 2026—one day before the public shutdown announcement—Orionx filed criminal complaints with Chile's Public Prosecutor's Office naming co-founders Roberto Zibert and JoaquÃn DÃaz. Hoka News reported that the allegations center on transfers of customer assets to wallets outside company control that allegedly occurred between 2018 and 2021. Both co-founders have denied wrongdoing.
The company has not disclosed which specific transactions triggered the criminal investigation or provided details about the wallets receiving the transferred funds. No independent third party has yet confirmed the location or current status of the missing $7 million in assets.
Tether Investment and Regulatory Oversight Gaps
Orionx received backing from Tether—a major stablecoin issuer—through a Series A investment in June 2025, just over 15 months before announcing its collapse. Crypto Briefing reported that the investment had positioned Orionx as a growing player in Chile's cryptocurrency market, though regulatory approval remained elusive.
Chile's Financial Market Commission rejected Orionx's application for registration under the country's Fintech Law in June 2026. The regulator emphasized that Orionx was never authorized or supervised by the commission and stated it is not overseeing the company's closure or restitution process, leaving customers dependent on the exchange's own recovery efforts.
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