OKX Star: Focus on products, believe in the industry, and win-win for builders in 2025

On January 14, 2025, OKX Vietnam Da Nang’s “OKX New Year’s Eve Dinner” event officially opened. "OKX New Year's Eve Dinner" is a special event held by OKX in Da Nang, Vietnam for industry builders. This event focuses on core topics such as OKX's latest product planning, industry hotspot analysis, and experience sharing, and is committed to providing in-depth exchanges for global cryptocurrency enthusiasts. A platform for collision of thoughts and ideas to welcome the New Year together.

OKX CEO Star attended the event via video link and delivered an impromptu speech, conveying his profound reflections on industry development and future prospects.

The following is the full text of Star’s speech (edited):

I am very happy to meet you all through video. Many of you are my old friends, and many of you are netizens. You are welcome to travel thousands of miles to participate in OKX activities.

**1. “Cryptocurrency” should not be used as a derogatory term. The

Crypto & AI industry has a promising future.**

I have been involved in the Crypto industry for more than ten years and have witnessed the changes in people's understanding of Bitcoin and the crypto industry.

Let’s take an intriguing phenomenon as an example: many people translate the English name of our encryption industry “Crypto industry” into the Chinese “Crypto Circle”. If "Crypto industry" is a complimentary word with positive connotations of technological innovation and economic empowerment, then "currency circle" is more like a neutral word. In reality, many people even give the “currency circle” a derogatory connotation. For example, if someone enters the crypto industry and starts over after failing to start a business, they will be evaluated as "this person has now gone to the cryptocurrency industry."

This semantic gap coexists with public prejudice against the industry, and is an issue that the encryption industry needs to face up to. In my opinion, there is no difference between the "currency circle" and the "car manufacturing circle", "mobile phone circle", "live streaming circle", etc. Every one of us working in the “currency circle” should hold ourselves to high standards in our words and deeds to break and reshape the public’s positive perception of the crypto industry. When the core of technology is reduced to the label of hype and speculation, the long-term value of industry development is also easily misunderstood or ignored. And this bias is not accidental, but the result of complex social, economic and cultural factors.

After working in the encryption industry for decades, I have a deep understanding that the encryption industry is a technology-driven, vibrant industry full of innovation and vitality, and supported by global regulations. Crypto&AI will become one of the industries with the best commercial technology development in the world in the next ten years.

Therefore, I would like to appeal to everyone. If you want to maintain the reputation of the "currency circle" or "encryption industry", you need to start with your and my words and deeds, respect our colleagues in the industry, and ultimately build us into an innovative, technological, and sunny industry. .

**2. OKX’s Token Listing and OKB are building with great concentration

and require themselves to use high compliance standards.**

In 2024, OKX has achieved many dazzling achievements globally. However, the focus I want to talk about will not be on showing off achievements, but on a candid analysis of OKX’s shortcomings and problems.

Many people describe OKX as a "different" or even "pretentious" company. This evaluation is particularly prominent in OKX's Token Listing. Compared with the asset listing models of other platforms, OKX maintains a highly restrained attitude in asset screening. It can be said that we are not radical.

In our opinion, Listing is a process of discovering high-quality assets, but when we cannot judge the quality of the assets, we would rather not recommend them to users. This cautious choice often makes us appear "tangled" and also triggers controversy about our conservative style from the outside world.

Behind this caution is not only a deep consideration of the interests of users, but also OKX’s adherence to “corporate genes” and “values.” Although this attitude may lose some market competitiveness in the short term, in the long term, this restraint provides a more solid foundation for the healthy development of the industry. We also acknowledge the success of other platforms in this regard, but different companies have different "corporate genes" and "values." OKX is learning and improving to balance the tension between user needs and company values.

Another controversial topic is OKX’s platform token OKB. In the industry, many companies choose to use short-term means to increase token prices to stimulate market enthusiasm, but we never predict the price of OKB, nor will we adopt a short-term increase strategy. I would like to say that OKB is just like the long-term value philosophy of Bitcoin. Looking back, Bitcoin of $1,000 or $10,000, which seemed extremely expensive in the past, looks really cheap now.

Our responsibility to our users is also a form of respect for the overall compliance environment of the industry. The highly regulated nature of the crypto industry makes price predictions potentially involve the risk of violations. Therefore, OKX is more inclined to increase its intrinsic value by promoting the actual use scenarios and transparency of OKB. For example, in the future, we will promote the construction of the X Layer public chain and clearly and publicly display the number of OKB held by OKX.

In the future development of OKX, we will still adhere to restraint and caution, respect the rules and assume responsibility, and promote the symbiotic development of technology and ecology. OKX will not only continue to optimize its technology and products, but will also listen to market feedback with a more open mind and work with industry partners to build a more transparent, fair and sustainable encryption ecosystem.

In the future, OKX hopes to reverse the outside world's stereotype of us as "not close to the world". I hope to start from myself and learn, grow and develop with our partners, and ultimately make the encryption industry become an industry with technological innovation and value-driven as its core. field, rather than a market hijacked by short-term interests.

**3. Concentrate on developing products and enjoy the dividends of

industry development**

Over the past many years, no fund I know has been able to outperform Bitcoin in profitability. Industry participants should be wary of superstition in the "wealth code". The development dividend of the industry is the biggest opportunity. I made a joke, "If you don't have 10 Bitcoins, don't call yourself a KOL. If this is used as the standard for industry practitioners, I believe the industry will not let us down."

The market size of Bitcoin is currently only one-tenth of the gold market, but the scale of capital inflows into Bitcoin ETFs has exceeded that of gold ETFs. This phenomenon is not only a verification of the value of Bitcoin, but also shows that the future development potential of the industry may be as high as a hundred times. Establishing a consensus on the holding and understanding of Bitcoin is the basic threshold for industry practitioners and investors.

The value anchoring of Bitcoin and the ecological potential of Ethereum are the twin engines that drive the long-term growth of the industry, but this does not represent investment advice. It can be said that "there must always be Bitcoin. Within the scope of accepted investment, participating in the industry is a sense of accomplishment."

So, returning from the grand narrative of Bitcoin to the reality of the industry, OKX has made a lot of achievements in recent years. In addition to the creation of Web3 wallet and exchange products, we also have a "secret business line" that will be launched in February this year. The current product is not entirely satisfactory and is still being polished. I hope that in the future the OKX product can truly be integrated into users’ daily lives and cover many countries around the world, allowing users to experience seamless services. Especially now, OKX has obtained licenses in many places around the world and has opened up local bank cards. This product will directly address the core pain points of the industry - such as the smoothness and convenience of global deposits and withdrawals, and achieve more technological innovations.

Thank you.

Disclaimer

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute and should not be considered (i) investment advice or recommendations, (ii) an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or hold digital assets, or (iii) financial, accounting, legal or tax advice . We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of such information. Digital assets (including stablecoins and NFTs) are subject to market fluctuations, involve high risks, and may lose value or even become worthless. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you based on your financial situation and risk tolerance. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional regarding your specific situation. Not all products are available in all regions. For more details, please see the OKX Terms of Service and Risk Disclosure & Disclaimer. OKX Web3 mobile wallet and its derivative services are governed by separate terms of service. Please be responsible for understanding and complying with applicable local laws and regulations.