Tribute to Another Year of Forging Ahead

A letter from OKX Founder and CEO Star Xu

As CEO of OKX and a Builder who remains true to our original mission, I am proud to look back on the remarkable growth and progress OKX has achieved this year. Despite numerous challenges, 2024 has been a year of focus, innovation, and resilience. We have not only expanded and optimized our products, but also made significant progress in launching transparent and regulatory-compliant localized operations, while further strengthening our global management team. Notably, following a period of high uncertainty, 2024 is regarded as a "year of recovery" for the cryptocurrency industry and an important turning point for the sector.

Throughout this year, we have kept our mission in mind: "Advancing decentralization to make crypto assets more accessible to global users."

In 2024, we achieved milestone growth: App downloads increased 122% year-over-year, OKX DEX daily trading volume grew 20-fold, and OKX wallet users grew 991% globally (as of December 5). These numbers not only directly reflect the rapid increase in global market acceptance of crypto assets, but also demonstrate OKX's important role as an industry leader.

We believe the following important developments will enable us to provide better service to our users.

Product Experience

This year, we focused on optimizing the App experience while enhancing the seamless experience of crypto assets within OKX. First, we launched a new simple mode in the App. This mode provides users with a cleaner, more intuitive interface for viewing crypto asset prices and trends, and quickly completing buy/sell or trading transactions. The previous experience was more complex, catering more to "professional traders" rather than "ordinary investors."

Second, we added cross-chain support for over 100 blockchains, providing an "extremely smooth multi-chain experience" for our wallet and Web3 ecosystem. Third, we comprehensively upgraded the App design, optimizing your daily operational experience.

In 2024, we welcomed millions of new users, launched approximately 200 new features, and made over 800 upgrades across our centralized exchange, wallet, and decentralized services. These innovations fully reflect our commitment to improving the usability and accessibility of crypto assets.

Localized Operations

In 2024, we made significant progress in expanding into global markets, launching localized operations in seven regions: Brazil, Singapore, UAE, Turkey, Netherlands, Belgium, and Australia. In these key markets, we built local teams focused on market growth and introduced seamless fiat deposit channels, making it easier for customers to access our products.

Additionally, we obtained four important licenses and authorizations in Singapore, UAE, European Economic Area (EEA), and Australia, demonstrating our commitment to building localized operations.

Through this strategic expansion, we have seen significant growth in Assets on Platform (AOP) in these local markets. These achievements reflect user trust in us, demonstrate our ability to continuously expand services in regulated markets, and show our determination to work closely with regulators and policymakers.

Compliance

This year, we continued to strengthen compliance operations with risk management mechanisms that meet the standards of top-tier financial services companies. It is this high-standard compliance framework that enabled us to successfully obtain relevant licenses in regions known for strict regulation. Our focus has always been on ensuring our systems remain advanced and continuously improving. One of our important responsibilities is ensuring healthy market operations by proactively identifying and removing "high-risk users."

This year, we added over 300 compliance team members, bringing the total number of OKX global compliance experts to nearly 500. Meanwhile, we continuously enhanced our compliance capabilities in KYC, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, and anti-money laundering (AML). This sustained investment allows us to maintain the highest standards in the industry, and we are proud of having a strong and effective compliance system.

Transparency

Many people remain skeptical of centralized exchanges or other centralized financial institutions because they have witnessed the severe consequences of runs on digital asset exchanges or banks. In 2022, we committed to publishing monthly Proof of Reserves (PoR) reports so users can clearly understand the platform's total assets. At the same time, we launched a "self-verification" tool allowing customers to verify at any time whether their funds on the platform are fully backed 1:1.

To date, over 2 million users have used our Proof of Reserves (PoR) verification tool. We were one of the first platforms to launch this tool in 2022. Since the launch of Proof of Reserves (PoR), platform reserves have doubled, demonstrating user trust in the platform. A few days ago, we released our industry-leading 26th consecutive Proof of Reserves report, showing over $30 billion in reserves across 22 mainstream crypto assets with a reserve ratio of over 100%.

Executive Team Continues to Expand

In 2024, we further expanded our global management team, attracting several outstanding leaders who have injected more momentum into our cryptocurrency market leadership. These executive appointments are an important signal that we have the ability to expand our services to the highest standards, especially in localized operations.

February: Mehmet Çamır joined as Chairman of the OKX Turkey Board, previously serving at top-tier Turkish banking institutions and the Turkey Wealth Fund.
April: Erald Ghoos joined as CEO of OKX Europe, tasked with driving growth in major European local markets.
September: Gracie Lin joined as CEO of OKX Singapore, previously holding leadership positions at Grab and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
October: Yuri Muskin joined as Global Chief Risk Officer, previously working at Goldman Sachs and the McKinsey investment office.

Looking Ahead to 2025

I hope OKX can become the infrastructure of the crypto economy, just as Google is to the internet.

OKX is stronger than ever, but we know the journey ahead is long and challenging. I firmly believe that true decentralization will lead us toward mass adoption of Web3, which is the direction of the future. Every financial institution will connect with customers through customized decentralized applications (dApps). OKX will be at the core of this process, empowering enterprises, developers, and creators to build and scale next-generation decentralized solutions.

We are already laying the foundation and increasing investment in Web3 resources, making OKX the preferred entry point for accessing future decentralized applications. I am proud to say that this vision is becoming reality. 2025 is not just another year; it is the next chapter that will define the future of cryptocurrency.

Disclaimer

This article may contain product-related content not applicable to your region. This article is intended to provide general information only and does not take responsibility for any factual errors or omissions herein. This article represents the personal views of the author only and does not represent the views of OKX. This article is not intended to provide any advice, including but not limited to: (i) investment advice or investment recommendations; (ii) offers or solicitations to buy, sell, or hold digital assets; or (iii) financial, accounting, legal, or tax advice. Holding digital assets (including stablecoins) involves high risk, may fluctuate significantly, and may become worthless. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you based on your financial situation. For questions about your specific situation, please consult your legal/tax/investment professional. The information appearing in this article (including market data and statistics, if any) is for general reference only. While we have taken all reasonable precautions in preparing these data and charts, we assume no responsibility for any factual errors or omissions expressed herein. © 2025 OKX. This article may be reproduced or distributed in full, or excerpts of 100 words or less from this article may be used, provided such use is non-commercial. Any reproduction or distribution of the entire article must prominently state: "This article is copyrighted © 2025 OKX, used with permission." Permitted excerpts must cite the article name and include attribution, such as "Article Name, [Author Name (if applicable)], © 2025 OKX". Some content may be generated or assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Derivative works or other uses of this article are not permitted.