Interview with OKX HRD: Unveiling the "Agenda" Behind Hiring Spree in a Bear Market
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Interview with OKX HRD: Unveiling the "Agenda" Behind Hiring Spree in a Bear Market
What are the core strengths that support OKX through multiple bull and bear cycles?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsEvery industry is subject to "cycles," and the crypto industry, closely tied to global financial markets, is no exception. As the tide recedes, crypto firms like Coinbase have announced layoffs, attempting to weather the uncertain downturn through cost-cutting measures. Yet amid this chill, veteran exchange OKX has instead announced a 30% expansion in hiring. While OKX isn't the only one expanding, we can't help but wonder—why is this typically low-key industry "veteran" going against the grain? What are the core strengths enabling it to navigate multiple market cycles? These questions found answers in our conversation with OKX's HR team.
I. On Expansion
Q: Why did OKX choose to expand hiring at this moment? What’s the real “intention” behind it, and how does it differ from FTX or Binance?
OKX HRD: The premise of our expansion is unwavering confidence in the industry’s future—confidence rooted in accumulated experience and deep understanding. So it’s not that we chose to expand now; rather, we’ve been actively hiring all along. The difference during this bear market is that we’re seizing the opportunity to acquire top-tier talent at lower costs, preparing for the next bull cycle and the anticipated influx of millions of new users.
That said, it's important to clarify: OKX’s hiring expansion is not blind growth, but a decision based on actual business needs. Unlike other peers, during 2021–early 2022 when many companies launched large-scale recruitment drives, OKX focused instead on internal operational refinement. Over the past two years, we built an Employee Review System that clearly defines each employee’s goals and role expectations, enabling scientific workforce planning and securing a competitive edge in operations.
Q: What does the current recruitment landscape look like?
OKX HRD: We aim to reach 5,000 employees within a year, though this won’t happen overnight. It will be phased across different timelines, business lines, and departments. Considering current operational demands, staffing ratios, and administrative capacity, we've already released our first wave of openings. Job details can be found on OKX’s LinkedIn page.
Q: Which roles are prioritized in this hiring push?
OKX HRD: As a technology-driven company, OKX upholds continuous innovation as a core value, striving to enhance user experience through product and technical advancements. Therefore, product and R&D roles are our primary focus. With rapid growth across regions, we’re also hiring growth and operations talent tailored to local market needs. Additionally, to improve the global employee experience, we're seeking functional support experts worldwide.
Q: Returning to talent itself, what are OKX’s criteria for hiring?
OKX HRD: The core hiring criteria are: original thinking, execution capability, and mission-driven mindset.
This stems from two realities: First, the industry remains early-stage—only those genuinely curious, optimistic, and committed to deeply understanding it can sustain long-term progress. Second, the crypto space is close to money, full of temptation and challenges. At such times, having integrity and a sincere Web3 vision becomes critical—this is exactly what we prioritize in hiring.
Q: This might be an unusual time to hire, with Coinbase and others laying off staff. What’s your view on the current state of the crypto talent market?
OKX HRD: The crypto talent market overlaps significantly with the broader tech market. While general talent remains abundant, true blockchain specialists are scarce. Skilled developers are still in short supply, and designers with both aesthetic sense and crypto-native product thinking are rare. Globally, job applicants numbered 18.8k in April and rose to 18.9k in May.
Q: What does OKX’s current talent structure look like? Does this expansion reflect broader strategic moves in crypto?
OKX HRD: Regarding talent structure: Our employees span over 50 countries and regions, 80% aged between 23–28, representing more than ten different religious backgrounds. We aim for every team member to think like an engineer, which is why we’ve brought in talent from top-tier institutions like Apple, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Google, and Facebook. We also adopted distributed work early on—a model aligned with blockchain ethos and a growing global trend.
On strategy: It’s quite interesting. Hiring supports our product roadmap, and our industrial布局 (strategic layout) has been planned 2–3 years ahead. After rebranding, we publicly shared that OKX’s crypto strategy centers on building a Crypto Ecosystem, driven by three core products: CEX, OKC, and a Web3 ecosystem platform, fueling comprehensive business growth. Additionally, we established OKX Block Dream Ventures to incubate high-potential projects. To date, OKX Ventures has invested globally in hundreds of blockchain projects across key sectors including public chains, GameFi, and NFTs.
II. On Team Building
Q: As an industry veteran that has weathered many storms, OKX seems to retain many long-time employees. Can you walk us through your team-building journey in light of industry evolution?
OKX HRD: Our team-building journey falls into three phases.
Phase One – Founding Era: The founding team consisted of coders and Bitcoin enthusiasts, primarily focused on Bitcoin mining, selling, and custody;
Phase Two – Growth Era: To support scaling, we recruited talent from traditional finance and major internet firms. While they brought valuable expertise, some struggled due to cognitive dissonance—legacy professional mindsets clashed with the raw, fast-paced nature of crypto’s early days. Others succumbed to financial temptations and made mistakes. In response, we strengthened our cultural foundation and review mechanisms to prevent recurrence.
Phase Three – Reflection Era: Drawing lessons from the prior phases, we began emphasizing talent development and internal system building. Many department leads were grown internally from scratch, and the Employee Review System mentioned earlier is another outcome of this phase.
Indeed, 2017–2020 was a prolonged period of reflection. Experience taught us that market swings don’t equate to industry progress. Markets will always fluctuate, innovation may stall, but technological advancement never reverses—everything ultimately returns to fundamentals.
Q: What are your guiding principles for team building?
OKX HRD: One principle is gaining true insight through trials—summarized as pragmatism, meaning solving real problems. The other is achieving win-win outcomes between organization and individual. In practice, this translates into five core values: Team First, Integrity Above All, Embrace Change, Self-Drive, and Perseverance Through Challenges.
Why these values? Because we believe effective team building lies in balancing the relationship among organization, people, and industry.
Between organization and individual: Prioritize team and integrity; Between organization and industry: Embrace change; At the individual level: Self-drive and perseverance. These five principles are shaped by the industry’s unique characteristics and developmental stage—and align seamlessly with our corporate culture.
III. On Corporate Culture
Q: What is your corporate culture? How was it formed, and what tangible impact has it had?
OKX HRD: Corporate culture wasn’t predefined—it emerged from the founding team’s reflections on past experiences and forward-looking analysis of industry trends. As one of the earliest exchanges rooted in crypto, repeated retrospectives led us to realize that innovation is the core engine and key advantage behind OKX’s growth. Pioneering innovations like futures and leveraged products delivered strong results and reputation. Thus, continuous innovation has become OKX’s defining culture.
The practical effect is clear: innovation has allowed OKX to survive repeated industry upheavals and emerge as a respected player. Going forward, we aim to extend crypto’s value to even more people through sustained innovation.
Q: Corporate culture is often seen as a Western import—even a lifelong challenge for leaders. In China, it’s sometimes mocked as brainwashing, pushing employees to work for passion alone. How do you view this?
OKX HRD: Corporate culture emerged in the 1980s–90s when American businesses, challenged by Japanese innovation, began reflecting deeply. U.S. management scholars observed leading Japanese firms placing strong emphasis on corporate spirit—for example, Konosuke Matsushita’s philosophical approach or Kazuo Inamori’s “heart-based” management. Tracing further back, Japan itself drew inspiration from China—think of Buddhist monks from the Ming dynasty or thinkers like Wang Yangming.
For any company, culture forms organically through lived experience—lessons learned and insights gained. It helps answer fundamental philosophical questions: Who are we? Where are we going?
The notion of “working for passion” reflects how culture lands at the individual level. When it becomes rigid and one-directional—rather than a mutual commitment—it risks being perceived as exploitative. Often, employers are unfairly labeled, and mainstream discourse frames organizational and personal interests as inherently opposed. But at OKX, we see them as aligned—mutual growth is possible. Our talent strategy differs from peers and big tech by placing greater emphasis on individual development, evident in our promotion pathways and benefits design.
Q: That sounds simple in theory, but hard in practice. How exactly do you balance individual and organizational interests?
OKX HRD: First, patience. Given our deep understanding of the industry and long-term conviction, we allow room for employee experimentation—as long as initiatives serve user value. Second, intention. OKX aspires to be a century-old enterprise. Like flowing water, we don’t compete for the lead—we strive for continuity. Compared to peers, we’re more patient. Third, clarity about the organization-individual dynamic. Today’s talent lacks less knowledge than resilience and inner drive. Our culture aims to help employees discover these seemingly abstract yet vital qualities—enabling true mutual commitment.
Q: Ray Dalio champions “idea meritocracy”—letting the best ideas win regardless of origin. As a product-driven crypto firm, how do you ensure innovation gets recognized?
OKX HRD: The most direct way to let good ideas win is through action. At OKX, we care not just about innovative thinking, but results. Innovation must create tangible user value—it cannot be purely theoretical. Any initiative rooted in this purpose receives ample room to experiment and grow, allowing innovation to thrive.
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