OKX, the world’s sixth-largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume, today announced the phase-out of its mining pool services.
The company, which underwent a rebranding from OKEx in January 2022, will stop new user registrations for its mining pool as of January 26. Existing users will have until February 25 to continue using the service, with all mining pool-related services ceasing on February 26.
The decision to discontinue these services has been attributed to “business adjustments,” though OKX did not provide detailed reasons for this shift.
Previously, OKX’s pool supported the mining of several proof-of-work cryptocurrencies and offered staking services. Over time, many of the supported assets were terminated, leaving only Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum Classic pool services active on its website. Currently, the pool shows a relatively small scale of operations with only 19 active miners.
OKX’s Bitcoin mining pool had once accounted for about 5% of the blocks mined on the Bitcoin network. However, the mining activity dwindled following a security incident on October 16, 2020, when the crypto exchange temporarily suspended withdrawals.
The suspension was linked to one of its private key holders assisting in a public security investigation. Consequently, the hash power in the pool plummeted from 9,000 PH/s to a mere 20 PH/s and has since struggled to regain its former strength. Currently, the pool’s hash rate of 528 TH/s constitutes less than 0.0001% of the total Bitcoin hashrate.
Earlier this month, OKX unveiled new rules for its United Kingdom-based users in response to regulatory requirements set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This move is part of a broader trend among crypto exchanges to align with regulatory standards.
Specifically, UK users will need to complete an investor questionnaire to confirm their understanding of the risks associated with buying and trading digital assets. Additionally, a second questionnaire will assess the suitability of crypto investments for each user. Users who fail to complete these questionnaires or show their understanding of the risks will become ineligible to hold an OKX account.
OKX also took steps to limit its token offering to approximately 40 assets and has implemented conspicuous risk warnings on its platform interface to comply with the forthcoming FCA regulations. Also last week, the platform said it will delist several privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, including Monero (XMR), Dash (DASH), and ZCash (ZEC).
