OX token value craters after co-founder’s arrest triggers uncertainty

Open Exchange’s (OPNX) native currency crashed on the heels of co-founder Su Zhu’s arrest.

OX token value craters

When Zhu was apprehended in Singpaore, it triggered a massive wave of sell pressure, resulting in a steep decline in the value of OX tokens. According to Alphanomics, approximately $1 million worth of OX tokens were hastily dumped by token holders in the days following the news.

As a result, OX tokens dropped to as low as $0.010. While a minor recovery has occurred since the initial crash, the token’s value remains down by over 83% from its all-time high.

OX is the native cryptocurrency of OPNX, a specialized exchange designed for trading claims of insolvent crypto firms like FTX. Holders of OX tokens benefit from reduced trading fees on the platform and have a say in its governance activities.

OPNX was launched in April amid controversy due to its association with Zhu as well as Kyle Davies, co-founders of the now-defunct crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

Su Zhu’s arrest

This month, Su Zhu’s arrest at Changi Airport in Singapore sent shockwaves through the Web3 community.

Following his failure to adhere to a court instruction, Zhu was handed a four-month prison sentence after issuing a committal order.

Teneo, the court-appointed joint liquidator of 3AC, revealed that a similar committal order was granted against Davies, whose whereabouts remain unknown at the time of writing.

With Zhu beginning his sentence, the liquidators are now focused on “the recovery of assets that are either the property of 3AC or that have been acquired using 3AC’s funds.

The Su Zhu saga has once again made it clear that centralized crypto platforms can’t be trusted.

Zhu and Davies once controlled around $10 billion worth of crypto assets, making 3AC one of the largest Web3 firms in the world. 

However, plummeting cryptocurrency prices coupled with shady trading strategies cleaned out its assets, and the firm was unable to repay lenders. When 3AC went bankrupt, liquidator Teneo reported that both co-founders were uncooperative.

3AC unravels

3AC experienced a significant downfall in 2022 following the collapse of fugitive Du Kwon’s Terra ecosystem. 

Excessive leverage on long positions across various crypto assets and borrowing large sums of money led to its bankruptcy.

After the collapse, Zhu and Davies defaulted on loans and went into hiding, leading to legal actions against them.

In May, they received a written reprimand from Dubai’s Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) for operating this venture.

Earlier this month, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) barred the two 3AC co-founders from conducting financial activity in Singapore for nine years each.

OX token’s gloom

The Open Exchange Token (OX) is trading at around $0.0136, representing a 35% decrease in the past week and a 70% decline in the monthly timeframe. 

The current bear pressure on OX has led to a crash over $30 million in the token’s market capitalization, which now hovers at around $53 million.

The future of OX token and Open Exchange remains uncertain as the cryptocurrency community grapples with the aftermath of Su Zhu’s arrest and the downfall of 3AC.

 Investors and stakeholders are closely monitoring developments in this unfolding saga.