OKX Restricts Claude Access for Hong Kong Staff After Account Suspension

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has restricted employees in Hong Kong from using Anthropic’s Claude AI, after the company’s corporate account was briefly suspended earlier this month.

The restriction also applies to OKX employees travelling through mainland China, according to reports. The company’s enterprise account has since been restored, but OKX has decided to limit Claude access in locations where Anthropic does not officially support the service.

OKX said it recently discovered that some employees based in Hong Kong may not have been using Claude in full compliance with Anthropic’s regional access policies. The exchange has therefore instructed affected staff to use other AI models instead.

Anthropic’s current policies do not permit Claude to be accessed from Hong Kong or mainland China, making geographic access a significant issue for international companies with employees working across different jurisdictions.

The development highlights how growing US-China tensions over artificial intelligence are beginning to affect the everyday operations of global businesses. Companies are increasingly having to navigate not only AI capabilities and costs, but also restrictions based on where employees are physically located.

OKX has been a heavy user of artificial intelligence internally, encouraging employees to incorporate AI into their daily work. The exchange reportedly spends between $6 million and $8 million every month across several major AI providers.

The company had previously allowed employees to use Claude alongside other AI tools, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT. With Claude access restricted for staff in affected locations, OKX says requests from those employees will instead be directed to alternative AI models.

The situation also demonstrates how AI access is becoming a corporate compliance issue. Even when a company has an enterprise agreement with an AI provider, individual employees may still face restrictions depending on the country or territory from which they connect.

OKX is not the only financial company facing this challenge. Other major firms have also reportedly restricted Claude access for employees in Hong Kong because of Anthropic’s regional availability rules.

For OKX, the immediate issue appears to be access rather than a broader rejection of Claude. The company’s corporate account has been restored, and employees in supported regions can continue using the AI model.