On Friday, the centralized cryptocurrency exchange, OKX, announced its intention to cease its Mining Pool operations and associated services as part of strategic business adjustments.
Effective from January 26, the platform will no longer accept new user registrations for the Mining Pool. However, existing users will retain access to the service until February 25.
The complete discontinuation of all services tied to the mining pool is scheduled for February 26.
A crypto mining pool is a collaborative platform that brings together miners to collectively mine blocks and distribute rewards proportionally based on their individual contributions.
Normally, designated individuals or entities are responsible for overseeing and managing the operational aspects of the pool.
OKX has not disclosed the specific rationale behind this discontinuation.
As of press time, the exchange has not responded to Cryptonews’ request for comment.
Generally, an exchange’s decision to terminate a mining pool can be influenced by various factors such as financial, regulatory, operational, and strategic considerations.
A recent report from Cantor Fitzgerald suggests that Bitcoin mining is becoming less profitable. The research indicates that publicly traded mining companies may face profitability challenges following the upcoming Bitcoin halving.
OKX Mining Pool Discontinuation Follows OKB’s 50% Flash Crash
OKX’s announcement came shortly after a significant event involving OKB, the ecosystem’s utility token, which experienced a rapid decline of over 50% in value within just 15 minutes on January 23. This sudden drop resulted in a loss of $6.5 billion in diluted market capitalization.
OKB’s price plummeted from $52.02 to $25.10 on the OKX exchange before quickly rebounding. As of the latest data from TradingView, the token’s price has recovered and was last seen trading at $52.81.
OKX attributed this crash to a chain reaction of liquidations triggered by large leveraged positions as OKB reached $48.36. This, in turn, led to a significant market selloff.
In response to the incident, the exchange announced its commitment to reimbursing users for losses incurred due to forced OKB selling during liquidation, covering aspects like price differences, penalties, and transaction fees.
The flash crash of OKB coincided with heightened volatility in the cryptocurrency market, largely influenced by Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s selling of BTC to meet substantial redemption requests.
Furthermore, OKX made a recent decision to delist eight privacy-focused coins, including Monero (XMR), Cash (ZEC), and Dash (DASH).
