Company:OKX
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Type | Privately held company |
---|---|
Predecessor | OKEx |
Founded | 2017 |
Founder | Star Xu |
Headquarters | Seychelles[1] |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Jay Hao (CEO) Haider Rafique (CMO) |
Products | Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Cryptocurrency Exchange |
Number of employees | 1,000+ (2020) |
Website | www |
OKX (simplified Chinese: 欧易; traditional Chinese: 歐易), formerly known as OKEx, is one of the largest crypto spot and derivatives trading exchanges.[2] OKX is a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading various instruments such as spot and derivative. Some of the exchange's core features include spot and derivative trading. It was founded by Star Xu (徐明星) in 2017.[3] OKX is owned by Ok Group which also owns crypto exchange Okcoin.[4][5][6] It is not available to US based investors.[7] The company's CEO is Jay Hao[8] and CMO is Haider Rafique.[9]
Initially headquartered in Beijing, China,[10] OKX is now under a blanket ban by Chinese regulators. [11] On October 13, 2021, it issued a "Notice on Regulatory Policy in Mainland China", announcing that it would continue its policy of "withdrawing from the Chinese mainland market" and would not establish an office or team in the region. [12] However, according to Caixin, although the exchange officially announced that it would no longer set up an office in Mainland China, it still has a large number of R&D staff working in the region, including engineers, who continue to work for OKX in the form of third-party outsourcing companies. [13]
History
The company was launched by Star Xu in 2017 and is headquartered in Seychelles.[7]
2018
On April 11, 2018 the company announced its expansion to Malta, given the country's efforts to provide a sound regulatory framework for blockchain businesses and digital asset exchanges.[14]
In May 2018, the exchange became the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by reported turnover.[15]
In June 2018, the platform became one of the largest exchanges to launch and offer a cryptocurrency exchange white label service where applicants must have solid industry experience and $2.5 million in their accounts.[16]
2019
In November 2019, new digital asset exchange rules were announced by the Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission (SFC). According to Reuters , OKX said that they don't expect to see a large number of exchanges opting into the new regulations but said the new rules are positive for the industry.[17]
On November 19, 2019 the cryptocurrency exchange said that they previously opened their Indian Telegram group a year prior to opening their Indian operations.[18]
On November 25, 2019, the company announced four major partners for its global utility token "OKB".[19]
2021
According to Reuters, in February 2021 OKX saw their biggest trading volume in history, up 26% from the previous month to $188 billion.[20] Typically after a new cryptocurrency coin listing on OKX, the new coin has showed a positive price jump five days later.[21]
In June 2021, keywords such as "OKEx", "Binance" and "Huobi" were blocked by Baidu, Weibo and other Chinese Internet platforms.[22]
2022
In January 2022, OKEx rebranded to OKX.[23][24]
In March 2022, OKX rejected calls to ban Russian crypto trading.[25] In the same month, football team Manchester City F.C announced a partnership with OKX as their official cryptocurrency partner.[26][27] In May 2022, OKX signed a sponsorship deal with McLaren as a primary partner.[28]
Criticism and controversies
On February 24, 2018, the Dongguan Public Security Bureau officially opened a criminal case against OKX for possible "illegal futures trading" or, more seriously, "fraud".[29]
In March 2018, some major cryptocurrency exchanges were said to be charging up to one million dollars to have their tokens listed. In a response to Insider, a PR manager for OKX denied this saying there is no listing fees for any tokens.[30]
On March 10, 2018, Sylvain Ribes, a trader and investor, published an article titled Chasing fake volume: a crypto-plague, in which he concluded from an analysis of publicly available data that approximately 93% of trading volume on OKX was faked.[31]
On July 30, 2018 a trader reportedly bought bitcoin futures with a $416 million notional value on margin, before being forced by the exchange to liquidate his position at a large loss. The exchange injected 2,500 Bitcoins - worth about $18 million at current prices - into an insurance fund to help minimize the impact on clients. However, to cover for the outstanding amount, traders who had made an unrealized profit during the previous week still had to pay a clawback rate of 17 percent, so-called "socialized clawback".[32]
OKX has experienced several downtime incidents, the most serious of which occurred on September 5, 2018, in which the exchange suddenly experienced problems such as app flashbacks, inability to log into the platform, and inability to view contracts. Subsequently, many investors crowded Beijing, where the institution was headquartered at the time, to defend their rights.[33] On the evening of the 10th of the same month, the founder of the exchange, Star Xu, was summoned by the Shanghai public security authorities to assist in the investigation for alleged digital currency fraud.[34]
In October 2019, Star Xu and Yongxing Yang had a dispute that was frequently mentioned. Yang broke the news to the media that several of his own accounts on the OKX platform had been frozen and cancelled for no reason, with assets worth a combined total of about 800 million RMB vanishing into thin air, and that a case against OKX and Star Xu by him and other investors had been officially filed in the Hangzhou Internet Court.[35]
On October 16, 2020 OKX temporarily suspended withdrawals following its founders alleged arrest.[36][37] On November 19, 2020 OKX announced that withdrawals would reopen and will resume on or before November 27.[38]
See also
References
- ↑ Jing Yang. "Digital currencies and the virtual currency in the sense of financial regulation". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-latest-crackdown-on-bitcoin-other-cryptocurrencies-shakes-market-11621853002.
- ↑ "OKX overtakes global crypto exchanges as 2nd largest, rebrands as cross-platform services provider" (in en). Financial Post. 2022-01-18. https://financialpost.com/globe-newswire/okx-overtakes-global-crypto-exchanges-as-2nd-largest-rebrands-as-cross-platform-services-provider.
- ↑ "Malta's Authorities Remain Committed to Making Country a "Blockchain Island," Despite Binance and Other Crypto Exchanges Not Being Licensed". Crowd Fund Insider. 2020-03-01. https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2020/03/158141-maltas-authorities-remain-committed-to-making-country-a-blockchain-island-despite-binance-and-other-crypto-exchanges-not-being-licensed/.
- ↑ "OKEx Review: Pros, Cons, and More | The Ascent by Motley Fool" (in en). 2021-07-26. https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/cryptocurrency/okex-review/.
- ↑ "Squid Game’s star cast-promoted Klaycity to list crypto token on OKX" (in en). 2022-03-17. https://www.livemint.com/market/cryptocurrency/squid-game-s-star-cast-promoted-klaycity-to-list-crypto-token-on-okx-11647504211047.html.
- ↑ "Cryptocurrency Derivative Exchange Ranking by Open Interest (Perpetual Contracts, Futures)" (in en). https://www.coingecko.com/en/exchanges/derivatives.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "OKX Review" (in en). https://www.investopedia.com/okex-review-5215206.
- ↑ Zmudzinski, Adrian. "OKEx Rebrands To OKX, Expands Into Financial Services" (in English). https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/22/01/25077423/okex-rebrands-to-okx-expands-into-financial-services.
- ↑ Coffee, Patrick (2022-06-01). "Tribeca Festival Signs Crypto Trading Desk OKX as Its New Top Sponsor" (in en-US). Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. https://www.wsj.com/articles/tribeca-festival-signs-crypto-trading-desk-okx-as-its-new-top-sponsor-11654081202.
- ↑ "China hits hard on virtual currency trading". China Securities Journal. 2019-11-23. https://finance.eastmoney.com/a2/201911231301073772.html.
- ↑ "China bans virtual currency trading altogether". 2021-09-27. https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/fggz/gjhz/zywj/202109/t20210927_1297844_ext.html.
- ↑ "OKEx Announces Maintaining "Exit from Mainland China" Policy". 2021-10-13. https://www.jiemian.com/article/6695821.html.
- ↑ "Huobi to stop trading for users in mainland China". December 7, 2021. https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20211207-1220727.
- ↑ Tan, Andrea. "Another Giant Cryptocurrency Exchange Is Moving To Tiny Malta". https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-12/another-giant-cryptocurrency-exchange-is-moving-to-tiny-malta.
- ↑ Lam, Eric. "OKEx CEO Resigns Just as Crypto Exchange Becomes World's Biggest". https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-14/okex-ceo-resigns-just-as-crypto-exchange-becomes-world-s-biggest.
- ↑ "OKEx to Launch Cryptocurrency Exchange White Label Service". Finance Magnates. 2018-06-20. https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/want-cryptocurrency-exchange-okex-launches-white-label-service/.
- ↑ "OSL leaps on new Hong Kong rules with crypto exchange license bid". Reuters. 2019-11-07. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cryptocurrency-hong-kong-regulation-idUSKBN1XH1YF.
- ↑ "Telegram takes off in India as startups drive adoption". India Times. 2019-11-19. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/companies/telegram-takes-off-in-india-as-startups-drive-adoption/articleshow/72093242.cms.
- ↑ "Bitcoin Daily: Singapore Blockchain Firm To Boost Philippine Startups With $300K Fund; OKEx Crypto Exchange Lands New Partners For OKB Coin". PYMNTS. 2019-11-25. https://www.pymnts.com/blockchain/bitcoin/2019/bitcoin-daily-singapore-blockchain-firm-to-boost-philippine-startups-with-300k-fund-okex-crypto-exchange-lands-new-partners-for-okb-coin/.
- ↑ "Cryptocurrency trading volumes spike 17% in February". Reuters. 2021-03-05. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currency-idUSKBN2AX14D. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- ↑ "Excitement over the 'Coinbase effect' is spilling over ahead of its stock market debut". Fortune. 2021-04-07. https://fortune.com/2021/04/07/coinbase-ipo-crypto-boom/. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
- ↑ "Baidu, Weibo block keywords "Binance" "Huobi" "OKEx"". International Financial Times. June 10, 2021. https://finance.eastmoney.com/a/202106091955679218.html.
- ↑ "OKEx Rebrands To OKX, Expands Into Financial Services" (in English). 2022-01-18. https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/22/01/25077423/okex-rebrands-to-okx-expands-into-financial-services.
- ↑ "OKX rebrands as cross-platform services provider" (in en-US). https://ibsintelligence.com/ibsi-news/okx-rebrands-as-cross-platform-services-provider/.
- ↑ PYMNTS (2022-03-02). "Binance, OKX Reject Ban on Russian Crypto" (in en-US). https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2022/binance-okx-reject-calls-to-ban-russian-crypto-transactions/.
- ↑ Birnbaum, Justin. "Manchester City Announces Multimillion-Dollar Deal With Crypto Exchange OKX" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2022/03/04/manchester-city-announces-multimillion-dollar-deal-with-crypto-exchange-okx/.
- ↑ "Manchester City sign 'multimillion dollar' OKX crypto exchange deal" (in en-GB). 2022-03-07. https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/manchester-city-okx-cryptocurrency-exchange-sponsorship-3key/.
- ↑ "McLAREN RACING ANNOUNCES OKX AS A PRIMARY PARTNER OF McLAREN FORMULA 1 TEAM". https://www.mclaren.com/racing/partners/okx/mclaren-racing-announces-okx-a-primary-partner-mclaren-formula-1-team/.
- ↑ Li Feifan. "The full investigation of the suspected fraud of Star Xu's OKX". 2018-04-20. http://finance.sina.com.cn/blockchain/coin/2018-04-20/doc-ifznefkf5601485.shtml.
- ↑ "Crypto exchanges are charging up to $1 million per ICO to list tokens: 'It's pure capitalism'". Insider Inc.. 2018-03-12. https://www.insider.com/cryptocurrency-exchanges-listing-tokens-cost-fees-ico-2018-3.
- ↑ Sharma, Rakesh (2018-09-28). "Are Crypto's High Trading Volumes a Scam?". https://www.investopedia.com/news/are-cryptos-high-trading-volumes-scam/.
- ↑ Robertson, Benjamin; Tan, Andrea; Nakamura, Yuki (3 August 2018). "Bitcoin Whale's Bad Trade Leaves Counterparties Holding the Bag". Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-03/a-massive-losing-bet-on-bitcoin-futures-has-investors-buzzing.
- ↑ "Virtual exchanges may be involved in economic crimes". Sina. 2021-01-26. https://finance.sina.com.cn/blockchain/roll/2021-01-26/doc-ikftpnny1966272.shtml.
- ↑ "OKX Founder Star Xu Was Summoned by Shanghai Public Security Authorities to Assist in Digital Currency Fraud Investigation". Sina. 2018-09-11. http://finance.sina.com.cn/blockchain/roll/2018-09-11/doc-ihiixyeu6035048.shtml.
- ↑ "15 Billion RMB Worth of Bitcoins Cannot Be Withdrawn from OKEx Exchange". 2020-10-17. https://news.stcn.com/sd/202010/t20201017_2438843.html.
- ↑ Hu Yue and Denise Jia (October 17, 2020). "Exclusive: OKEx Suspends Cryptocurrency Withdrawals After Founder’s Arrest". https://www.caixinglobal.com/2020-10-17/exclusive-okex-suspends-cryptocurrency-withdrawals-after-founders-arrest-101615674.html.
- ↑ Olga Kharif."Frozen OKEx Crypto Traders Can Cash Out, But Would Pay a Price". 2020-10-22. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-22/frozen-okex-crypto-traders-can-cash-out-but-would-pay-a-price.
- ↑ Joanna Ossinger and Zheping Huang (2020-11-19). "Chinese Crypto Mogul Emerges After Probe That Forced OKEx Halt". Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-19/crypto-exchange-okex-to-resume-withdrawals-as-issue-resolved.
External links