Cryptocurrency has showcased resilience over the past year, rebounding from the shocks of late 2022. BeInCrypto sat down with OKX Chief Innovation Officer Jason Lau to discuss market dynamics, regulatory hurdles, and the exchange’s commitment to user empowerment.
Market Resilience Amidst Shocks
We begin with Jason’s reflections on the past year. He names the factors that he believes helped the market to recover after the brutal 2022, such as regulatory clarity, technological innovations like the Ordinals protocol, and gradually returning trust in exchanges.
“In my view, this was helped by an improving macro situation but primarily due to several other factors: flushing out of bad actors, increasing regulatory clarity, innovations like the Ordinal token standard that’s driving renewed interest for building on Bitcoin. I’d also mention growing user trust in centralized exchanges due to more transparency in the form of Proof-of-Reserves and regular audits, anticipation of the Bitcoin ETFs, BTC halving, and the ‘Dencun’ upgrade for Ethereum.”
Fast forward to today, and we’re in a different situation altogether. While Lau notes that short-term volatility can still be a thing, he remains optimistic in the medium to long term. According to him, the expanding network activity and use cases, improving underlying technology, and increasing awareness and acceptance can be interpreted as clear signals of sustained market recovery.
Regarding the role of centralized exchanges in the current ecosystem structure, the Chief Innovation Officer underscores their importance as the primary entry point for newcomers. Jason highlights OKX’s commitment to regulatory compliance and its provision of decentralized solutions, offering users flexibility and control over their assets.
“At OKX we take that responsibility very seriously and work closely with local regulators and communities to ensure we build products that are appropriate for each jurisdiction. At the same time we understand how important is it to recognize that some people seek different ways of interacting with the crypto space. This is why we also have a decentralized Web3 Wallet and marketplace that empowers users to hold custody of their own funds while discovering and interacting with the wider world of Web3.”
As crypto matures, he asserts, we’ll see significant progress towards a model where users, depending on their needs, are given a choice between using centralized or decentralized tools.
Innovative Approach and User-Centric Solutions
Lau elaborates on OKX’s approach to innovation, emphasizing user-centricity. It means all new products and services are always built with users’ needs in mind. The exchange aims to be hyper-aware of what’s developing on the leading edge of the space, actively communicates, and works with communities to provide the best solutions so users can discover, learn, and access what they want.
“We regularly engage with users online, in-person, and via our team on the ground. Their feedback is vital, so we encourage our users to interact with OKX through many different channels. We also have a sophisticated and responsive customer service that is dedicated to solving any issues while conveying user feedback and preferences back to our product and business teams.”
The OKX’s support of the inscriptions ecosystem, including Bitcoin ordinals and BRC-20 tokens, will be an excellent example. Over the summer, the exchange’s team noticed strong grassroots developer and user enthusiasm around it and sought to deliver a market-leading experience via OKX Wallet and Marketplace.
“While it’s still early stages for the Inscriptions ecosystem, we’re excited about Ordinals and other tools as they open up a new design space for developers and new use cases. We believe inscriptions have the potential to be powerful digital collectibles as they store data and art on-chain, and allow for new types of NFTs to be created. We will continue to develop and recently announced support for emerging standards like Atomicals, Stamps, Runes, and Doginals.”
OKX also puts a lot of effort into users’ education. Jason believes it’s fundamental to the growth of the space: today, the platform has a robust library of content, including written articles, trading guides, videos on specific products, etc. The exchange also hosts in-person meetups and online Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) sessions on X to engage with the community and answer questions.
Global Expansion, Localized Presence
In discussing global expansion, Lau shared OKX’s dedication to local market presence and adaptation. While the exchange serves users globally, it invests significantly in multiple local markets, builds local teams, works closely with stakeholders, and ultimately designs product offerings that cater to the preferences and languages of users while complying with applicable local regulations. Last year, OKX announced the expansion to Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, and the UAE, and most recently added Arabic support to its products, bringing the total number of supported languages to 22.
Jason notes that regulators in many markets recognize the potential of digital assets and design regulatory frameworks that safeguard users and encourage innovation and investment from Web3 firms. OKX’s mission is to comply with applicable laws and regulatory requirements no matter where they offer services.
“This is a baseline requirement and one that we take very seriously. Our product roadmap is closely aligned to this imperative, and we’ve been able to innovate and create a great user experience within existing frameworks. In addition, we are always keen to collaborate with local regulators alongside other stakeholders to help ensure frameworks are fit-for-purpose, sustainable for market participants, and help promote good user experiences.”
Looking ahead, Lau envisions a future where Web3 technology is seamlessly integrated into everyday life. The continued progress in regulatory frameworks, broader acceptance by traditional industries, and improved understanding of technology through education will make this moment closer. OKX aims to contribute to it by creating the best technology and tools that give users simplicity and choice when it comes to interacting with the ecosystem.
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