Ethereum's 10th Anniversary: My Personal Tribute
A message from OKX Founder & CEO Star Xu
Ten years ago, Ethereum was born with a promise to reshape the world — not just cryptocurrency, but our entire imagination of finance, applications, and trust. Today, on Ethereum's 10th anniversary, I can't help but look back on the journey we've shared — not just OKX's growth, but the evolution of an entire industry built on the foundations of open principles, robust technology, and ambitious vision for the future.
My First Encounter with Vitalik
I still remember my first meeting with Vitalik Buterin, before Ethereum had even officially launched. Back then, he was brilliant, humble, and slightly shy — attending cryptocurrency meetups and explaining to anyone who would listen why a "programmable blockchain" was the future. I'll admit, I didn't fully grasp the grand vision he was describing. He once asked me if OKX could list Ethereum, and I had reservations — at the time, it seemed like just another altcoin project among many. But Vitalik saw what we didn't. He had already written the blueprint for DeFi, DAO, NFT, Layer 2, and on-chain identity. This is one of the rare moments in my life where I'm actually glad I was wrong. Watching Ethereum rise, gain widespread adoption, and become the settlement layer of the new internet has been nothing short of awe-inspiring. At the same time, I'm deeply proud that OKX has been able to support this ecosystem's growth in meaningful ways over the past decade.
Building Trust the Ethereum Way
At OKX, we've always been committed to aligning our technical philosophy with Ethereum's core values — openness, transparency, and permissionless innovation. This is most clearly demonstrated in our Proof of Reserves system launched at the end of 2022.
Rather than relying on opaque audit reports or quarterly disclosures, we chose a different path. Mirroring the cryptographic innovation that Ethereum is advancing through its ZK Rollup ecosystem, we built a trustless, real-time verification framework using zero-knowledge proofs. Users can independently verify that their assets are fully backed — without sacrificing privacy and without having to blindly trust. To date, we have published 32 consecutive monthly Proof of Reserves reports and remain committed to this practice long-term. This isn't a marketing strategy — it's a philosophy: in an industry that evolves rapidly and occasionally disrupts the rules, we want to be a platform that consistently earns trust rather than one that demands it.
Continuing to Support Ethereum and Developers
Over the years, we've given our full support to Ethereum's development: from listing hundreds of ERC-20 tokens in the early days, to investing in developer tools, liquidity support, and staking infrastructure. We've worked closely with DeFi protocols, NFT creators, and Layer 2 networks to provide global users with greater accessibility, faster speeds, and lower costs.
One significant milestone is X Layer, our Ethereum Layer 2 network built on Polygon CDK. While still early compared to established L2s, X Layer represents a foundational pillar of OKX's long-term vision. It combines the scalability and modular advantages of Ethereum L2 architecture with OKX's deep liquidity, user base, and product ecosystem.
What makes X Layer uniquely significant is its potential to become not just a technological, but also an economic core of our ecosystem. We're driving OKB (OKX's utility token) to serve as X Layer's native gas token, deepening the synergy between our infrastructure and community. By enabling users to pay gas fees with OKB, we're creating a seamless, unified ecosystem that directly ties utility, governance participation, and network growth together.
Our support for Ethereum scaling doesn't end there. OKX Wallet natively supports over 100 chains, including Arbitrum, Optimism, zkSync, Linea, and other major Ethereum L2s. We've developed intuitive cross-chain tools, smart routing systems, and aggregated liquidity features — with one goal always in mind: making Ethereum more accessible and effortless for users worldwide.
Recently, we've also fully supported EIP-7702, improving the user experience of smart contract wallets while enhancing security and composability. This is just one of a series of Ethereum-native upgrades we'll continue to champion.
A Reunion to Remember
Vitalik and I recently reconnected when he visited the OKX office, and discussed Ethereum's future at TOKEN 2049 in Singapore alongside Haider.
Sitting side by side with that young man who once asked me to list ETH, envisioning Ethereum's next decade together — it felt like a dream. We talked about Proof of Stake (PoS), the evolution of Layer 2, and how centralized platforms like OKX can support the ecosystem without straying from core principles.
This conversation made me acutely aware of how far we've come and how much further we have to go. Ethereum has laid the foundation, and now it's up to everyone — builders, users, exchanges, developers — to expand that foundation into a truly global, inclusive, and lasting future.
Moving Forward Together
Ethereum has redefined finance, gaming, identity, and software — but I believe the next decade will be even more transformative: we'll see fully autonomous on-chain applications, self-sovereign digital identities, agent-driven smart contracts, and trustless financial infrastructure that can rival traditional systems.
OKX is fully committed to making this future a reality. We'll continue to invest in Ethereum infrastructure, support its scaling roadmap, provide secure staking services, and push the boundaries of transparency through ZK-based Proof of Reserves. We'll also keep supporting the developers who are building tomorrow and the users who will live in it.
To Vitalik, the Ethereum Foundation, and everyone who has been part of this extraordinary journey: congratulations on this magnificent decade. Thank you for showing us that when conviction meets building, ideas can truly change the world.
Here's to Ethereum's next ten years.
Let's keep building together.
—
Star Xu
Founder & CEO, OKX
Disclaimer
This article may contain product content not applicable to your region. This article is provided for general informational purposes only and we make no representation as to the accuracy or completeness of any information herein. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of OKX. Nothing in this article constitutes (i) investment advice or investment recommendations, (ii) an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or hold digital assets, or (iii) financial, accounting, legal or tax advice. Holdings in digital assets (including stablecoins) involve a high degree of risk and may fluctuate considerably and may even become worthless. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is appropriate for you in light of your financial situation. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professionals for questions specific to your situation. The information contained in this article (including market data and statistical information, if applicable) is provided for general reference purposes only. While we have taken all reasonable care in the preparation of such data and charts, we do not make any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of any facts expressed herein. © 2025 OKX. This article may be reproduced or distributed in its entirety, or used in excerpts of 100 words or less, provided that such use is non-commercial. Any reproduction or distribution of the entire article must also prominently state: "This article is copyrighted © 2025 OKX, used under permission." Permitted excerpts must cite the article's name and include attribution, for example, "Article Name, [Author Name if applicable], © 2025 OKX." Some content may have been generated or assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Unauthorized derivative works or other uses of this article are not permitted.
Show More
My First Encounter with Vitalik
Building Trust the Ethereum Way
Continuing to Support Ethereum and Developers
A Reunion to Remember
Moving Forward Together
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