OKX Lennix Exclusive Interview: Our Endgame Is Definitely More Than Just a Web3 Giant
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OKX Lennix Exclusive Interview: Our Endgame Is Definitely More Than Just a Web3 Giant
All straight lines are lies; every truth is crooked.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAll straight lines are lies; all truth is curved. — Nietzsche
TOKEN2049 Singapore—an ongoing social experiment in the world of crypto. In this equatorial region where heat rises endlessly, no topic lacks discussion. It feels like a real-life version of *Ender's Game*, where what you gain or discover here depends entirely on your understanding, awareness, and strategy toward the jungle’s laws.
The crypto world has never lacked wealth creation movements—or the desire to deify individuals. Once someone gains attention, countless microphones and cameras immediately point their way. Here you’ll find trendsetters, passionate technologists, brilliant young minds, market-moving traders, and seasoned veterans who’ve navigated these waters for years.
No matter what you discover, lose, or gain here—facts remain, and change never stops. When discussions fade and public attention shifts to hacked protocols and massive airdrop celebrations, perhaps it’s time to reflect: What are the true builders and leaders of the crypto world actually doing?
At TOKEN2049 Singapore, OKX was undoubtedly one of the focal points across this tropical island. From McLaren F1 to the OKX NFT Gallery and the OKX After Party… black-and-white pixelated logos appeared everywhere in Singapore.
We had the privilege of sitting down with Lennix Lai, Head of Financial Markets at OKX, for an in-person interview covering OKX’s institutional services, branding, product development, and future strategies—offering insights for those building and participating in the future of Web3.
TL; DR:
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Diverse products and transparent trading rules have made OKX a top 3 global exchange
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In response to regulation, OKX’s overall strategy is simple and clear: comply wherever possible
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OKX’s end goal is definitely more than just becoming a Web3 giant
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Redefining OKX: moving forward, everything is toward the future of Web3
How would you define OKX?
At its core, OKX is an exchange—a liquidity venue, in professional terms. The philosophy is straightforward: offer enough products to meet every user’s trading needs, while ensuring sufficient stability, liquidity, and transparency so everyone can safely execute their trading strategies.
What distinguishes OKX from other exchanges?
First, we confidently state that OKX ranks among the top 3 global exchanges. Achieving such scale requires operating within a fair and transparent market environment.
The key to high trading volume lies in offering sufficiently diverse products, having fully transparent trading rules, and maintaining a battle-tested trading system capable of withstanding extreme market volatility.
This principle mirrors product development itself—the consistent performance through multiple market cycles is precisely why more and more institutions choose OKX.
OKX never limits itself. As shown in our brand videos, defining OKX isn’t up to us—it’s up to users.
We take inspiration from traditional brokers and financial products. For example, we introduced the industry’s only spot PnL analytics feature in a cryptocurrency exchange, breaking the norm of manual calculation in crypto. Now users can check their spot asset returns with just one tap on their phones.
Meanwhile, we continue exploring Web3—launching our Web3 wallet in 2022, building our own blockchain ecosystem OK Chain (OKC), advancing decentralized research, and pushing cross-chain interoperability—all part of our forward trajectory.
Are there any memorable experiences during OKX’s product development process?
There have been many unforgettable moments. During extreme market conditions—like the March 2020 crash—every risk management parameter faced enormous stress.
Extreme volatility cannot be fully predicted—no one had ever seen Bitcoin drop so sharply before. This becomes a true test of an exchange’s operational resilience. Cascading liquidations, error messages, halted contract systems, and dried-up liquidity—all these challenges pushed OKX to overcome successive technical and product hurdles, ultimately enabling secure and transparent trading.
Through repeated turbulence, the market has matured, and participants have grown more professional. Technological maturity and user growth together make the market increasingly stable.
What were OKX’s major product updates in 2022?
The most significant update was the launch of the OKX Web3 Wallet. It’s a highly polished product we’re confident releasing to the public. By integrating multiple public chains, we aim to deliver a seamless user experience. Currently, it’s the most comprehensive heterogeneous multi-chain wallet on the market.
This is not merely a channel, but a gateway. Users can conduct NFT trading, interact with DeFi protocols, use DEX apps, and perform cross-chain asset swaps—all within one wallet. No longer do users need to manage numerous individual chain wallets or worry about the security risks of transferring assets across chains. This marks a major breakthrough in the Web3 Hub space.
We now support over 37 public chains, NFT trading on 8 major chains including Ethereum and Solana, aggregate 100+ DEXs, and enable free cross-chain transfers across 10+ blockchains.
We aspire to become a Web3 SuperApp—systematically eliminating every barrier and friction point users face when engaging with Web3.
After years of development, the crypto exchange business has become extremely complex. We may introduce a lightweight app in the future—retaining only the most essential, high-demand features to serve the majority of basic users.
What major product updates can we expect from OKX in the future?
We’ve largely achieved full coverage in financial products. Looking ahead, we will focus on several key initiatives.
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Continue building the Web3 wallet as a critical entry point to the decentralized world.
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Accelerate development of the OKC public chain. Our goal is clear: lead the market in TPS, user adoption, and smart contract framework capabilities.
Frankly, I feel we’ve only just begun. Over the past two years, our primary focus has been overcoming technical challenges step by step.
We’re now confident in our speed and cost-efficiency, achieving over 5,000 TPS—surpassing most Layer 1 blockchains today. Our only current limitation is that we haven’t yet launched large-scale promotion, so our ecosystem is still developing. Nevertheless, OKC currently supports both EVM and Wasm virtual machines, bridging the Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystems. Tether has officially issued USDT on OKC, enabling smooth asset circulation. With strong foundational user experience, OKC is now expanding into DeFi, GameFi, Social, and Infra sectors.
We took many detours in building this chain. Initially, we didn’t intend to create a new public chain, so we built it on Cosmos IBC because we believe in a multi-chain future.
But since Cosmos lacked EVM support, early projects couldn’t deploy easily. That forced us to spend significant time rebuilding EVM compatibility—making us eventually a “Cosmos-based chain with EVM.”
Regulatory Maze: How does OKX navigate varying crypto regulations worldwide?
Given that OKX operates a highly complex exchange platform, our compliance strategy consists of two pillars.
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First, if a jurisdiction offers a complete exchange license, we actively pursue it. We already hold Dubai’s Provisional Licence, which comes with a robust regulatory framework and a regulator open to continuous dialogue with the industry. We are also actively applying for licenses in other regions.
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Second, in more mature regulatory environments, we plan to gradually bring different business components into compliance—such as fiat gateways, OTC desks, and spot trading—based on local regulatory developments.
Our overarching strategy is simple and clear: comply wherever possible.
Is OKX a Web3 tech giant?
Undeniably, our operational model incorporates many elements typical of large Web2 companies. Many internal processes resemble those of banks—but that’s simply how the real world functions.
But this is absolutely not our final destination.
We believe the future belongs to Web3—a future of decentralized finance, an economy powered by blockchain. At that stage, blockchain infrastructure will need to be vastly larger, faster, safer, more scalable, and include diverse chains meeting various business needs.
When everything matures, we will inevitably decentralize certain business units—because that’s what we truly believe in.
We will also participate directly in technological development, serving as one of the blockchain innovators tackling tough technical problems—such as whether KYC can be achieved without identity documentation. Breakthroughs aren’t easy, but we’re determined to try.
Right now, we exist at the intersection of the traditional world and the blockchain world—we want to shorten the gap between them. So today, we’re not a purely decentralized protocol. But one day, we will become exactly that.
Most importantly, we always start from the user experience. If the blockchain world grows large enough, and the technology can handle our scale, then yes—we’ll move all our operations fully on-chain.
Any final words for our readers?
Especially this year, you can see OKX anywhere globally—from Manchester City to McLaren, across online and offline brand content and visual updates.
Ultimately, we want to convey one message: The crypto industry now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with traditional industries like sports, fashion, automotive, and manufacturing. It’s vibrant enough to bring crypto into everyone’s daily life.
That’s why we place the OKX brand next to Google, alongside McLaren and Manchester City. All of this sends one signal: Our industry has matured.
Final Thoughts
Wherever you are in the world, Web3 builders consistently show up—active, energetic, and resolute. Whether it’s OKX or anyone else contributing to Web3, we’re all working toward the same vision: One day, we will live in a Web3 world.
While Nietzsche often said, “Life has no purpose, only process—the so-called ultimate goal is illusory,” perhaps it’s precisely because the final destination is intangible that we cherish the journey even more—and every celebration along the way.
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