OKX Demonstrates Stability Amid Crypto Market Crash
Date: 2025-10-16 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BUSINESS
OKX CEO Star Xu stated that even during the largest cryptocurrency crash in recent years, the exchange's system functioned without interruption. He stated that all orders were processed without delay, and users encountered no issues with trade execution. The average order execution latency was only 3 milliseconds, which, according to Xu, confirms the platform's resilience under market stress.
"True reliability is tested not in calm markets, but during chaos. We have demonstrated that our system is ready for the toughest tests," he noted in a post on X.
The sharp decline in the crypto market occurred on October 11th and became one of the most dramatic events in the history of the industry. Liquidations exceeded $19 billion in 24 hours, and the total market capitalization of digital assets fell by $660 billion. The panic selling was triggered by US President Donald Trump's announcement of 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, which increased uncertainty among investors.
Along with the global correction, the market experienced significant pressure due to technical issues on the largest exchange, Binance. During the crash, the prices of several altcoins, including IoTeX, Cosmos, and Enjin, were temporarily displayed as close to zero on its interface. For example, the ATOM token, which was trading around $4 on other platforms, fell to $0.1 on Binance. This triggered instant liquidations of positions with any leverage and intensified the sell-off.
Some analysts believe that Binance's role in the crash was far more significant than previously thought. According to one theory, the exchange was valuing collateral assets—such as USDE, wBETH, and BnSOL—based on internal spot prices rather than external oracle data. As a result, the price of USDE on Binance temporarily dropped to $0.65, while on other exchanges, the asset remained around $1. This led to a sharp decline in the value of collateral and large-scale forced liquidations.
The drop coincided with Binance's announcement of an upcoming transition to an oracle-based pricing system. However, the update had not yet been implemented, which was exploited by attackers: they orchestrated a massive sell-off of USDE worth $60–90 million, triggering a dramatic decline and margin calls. Simultaneously, large shorts were opened on Hyperliquid, generating approximately $192 million in profit.
This incident demonstrated how critical infrastructure vulnerabilities can be even for the largest centralized platforms. The events of October served as a reminder that in an era of high volatility, protecting against such attacks should be a priority not only for CEX but for the entire DeFi sector.
