Tether-Backed Orionx Files Criminal Complaint Over Missing Crypto Assets

Why Is Orionx Closing?

Chilean crypto exchange Orionx has begun a permanent shutdown after a forensic audit identified more than $7 million in customer assets that had allegedly moved to wallets outside the company’s control.

The exchange said withdrawals have been temporarily suspended while it focuses on recovering and returning as much customer money as possible.

“Our sole priority now is to return as much of our clients’ assets as possible,” Orionx said in its closure announcement.

The failure is particularly notable because Orionx secured backing from Tether only 15 months ago. The USDT issuer led Orionx’s Series A funding round in June 2025 as part of a wider push into Latin American digital asset markets.

Orionx did not say when it first lost control of the missing assets in its public announcement. However, a criminal complaint filed by the company reportedly alleges that transfers from its custody infrastructure occurred between 2018 and 2021, years before Tether invested.

The discrepancy only surfaced recently. Orionx Chief Operating Officer Thomas Mac Millan reportedly identified a large mismatch on Aug. 27 between balances shown in the exchange’s internal systems and the crypto actually held at its custody addresses.