Interview with OKX Wallet Lead: Forging a Unique Path to Overtake the Competition
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Interview with OKX Wallet Lead: Forging a Unique Path to Overtake the Competition
Unveiling the internal architecture: How to seize the first-mover advantage in inscriptions?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsEditor: Wu Shuo Blockchain
In the latest wave of inscriptions, OKX Wallet has undoubtedly taken an early lead and reaped the greatest benefits. The two leads of OKX Wallet shared insights in a podcast on why they were able to seize the opportunity, their personal journeys, and their views on the future of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Below is a curated selection—listen to the full podcast for complete coverage..
How did you both enter the crypto industry?
Kyle: Head of Products for OKX Web3 Marketplace and Discover. My journey into cryptocurrency began during university, about eight years ago. Over this time, I've actively participated in investment and research within DeFi and NFTs, experienced two full market cycles, and remain a committed crypto believer. In college, I started mining using GPU rigs to mine ETH and other cryptocurrencies, and engaged in deep trading on major domestic exchanges. I joined OKX in July 2020, initially overseeing data and growth products for the exchange. In 2021, as part of a strategic shift, I transitioned to focus on Web3 products. Recently, my work has centered on NFT markets, including high-profile areas like Ordinals NFTs and BRC20.
Jason Wang: I’m currently the head of OKX Bitcoin Wallet. I joined at the beginning of 2021 when OKX’s Web3 division was established. Prior to OKX, I worked as a product manager at several traditional internet companies. My crypto journey began around mid-2017 when I first started following the market and invested in some Bitcoin. Despite experiencing volatility, I remained deeply interested in the industry’s potential. The Bitcoin hard fork on August 1, 2017 particularly impressed me—I was amazed that holding BTC also entitled me to BCH. This concept of asset "forking" revealed the field’s immense potential, prompting deeper exploration. In 2018, together with a classmate, we developed a BCH wallet called Coco Wallet for Han Zong. Though DeFi wasn’t yet mainstream, the project gave us invaluable experience. By 2020’s DeFi boom, I became convinced of the sector’s vast opportunities. Thus, in March 2021, I decided to join OKX to drive wallet development and iteration. Lately, I’ve focused primarily on Bitcoin-related projects and operations.
Is the OKX Wallet team really over 500 people?
Jason Wang: Regarding the size of the OKX Wallet team, we don't have an exact internal figure. While rumors suggest 500 members, that number hasn’t been officially confirmed. Our team does number in the hundreds, but whether it reaches exactly 500 is something we can't precisely verify. We continue expanding based on business needs.
Kyle: Indeed, if you include middle-office teams, marketing, BD, customer support, and others, the total could be even larger. But defining the size of our Web3 team requires considering cross-departmental support across the company. Our Web3 team launched in early 2021 from scratch and has grown steadily since, spanning multi-chain wallets, DEXs, NFTs, and DApp browsers.
How did OKX Wallet successfully seize the early-mover advantage?
Jason Wang: Our ability to capture early market share wasn’t due solely to recent efforts, but rather built upon years of continuous development and foundational work. Although our Web3 wallet has only existed for just over two years, our technical architecture dates back five years. Given the needs of our exchange business, we began laying groundwork early. Over the past five years, we’ve not only advanced technically but also refined efficient user interaction methods. These are cumulative achievements—not something replicable overnight.
Kyle: As Jason mentioned, our technical foundation has deep roots. On the application side, I’d emphasize that OKX’s Web3 team is a vibrant, young group. Our agility in spotting trends comes largely from having many OG users within the team—users who are also our product managers and developers. For instance, we were among the first teams to notice and support the Ordinals project. While initial hesitation delayed our market launch, we ultimately launched the Ordinals marketplace in May. This success stems from long-term tech accumulation, strong product experience, and our exclusive mobile app advantage—all key factors behind our early lead.
What caused the initial hesitation? Was it related to market cycles?
Kyle: Our early hesitation wasn’t cyclical. As a tech-driven company, we’ve always supported innovation. Initially, though, inscription technology on Bitcoin lagged behind DeFi and Ethereum-based solutions, so we weren’t sure the ecosystem would take off. However, as market response grew and user interest surged, we recognized its potential. We then ramped up investment, building parsing tools and on-chain indexing infrastructure, eventually deciding to launch our own marketplace for Ordinals trading.
Jason Wang: No one can accurately predict market direction. So hesitation and caution—even among top teams—are inevitable in early stages.
What do you see as the future evolution of the inscription space?
Jason Wang: From a trading market and wallet ecosystem perspective, we already hold 80% to 90% market share. We’re receiving numerous partnership requests from external parties wanting to advance the industry together. On collaboration, we’re fully committed to driving broader industry progress. As for competitors like Binance, I believe their moves positively impact the sector. While there’s competition, bringing more users into the Bitcoin ecosystem—especially exposing them to Ordinals, Bitcoin-based DeFi, and expanded use cases—is collectively beneficial. It’s less about pure rivalry and more about shared momentum pushing the industry forward.
What are your future plans for integrating Bitcoin's ecosystem with wallets?
Jason Wang: Regarding future integration of Bitcoin’s ecosystem with wallets, we’re closely tracking its evolution. As I’ve noted on Twitter, our focus extends beyond asset issuance protocols—even though protocols like ARC, BRC, and CRC are now diverse and widespread. We aim not just to participate, but to identify directions with long-term value and sustainability.
From a trader’s view, quickly entering and exiting projects may carry little personal cost. But for us, we want investments to sustain long-term growth, not vanish overnight. Hence, we’re exploring various potential sectors within Bitcoin’s ecosystem—not just issuance protocols, but also Layer 2 networks. Projects like Stacks and Liquid are gaining traction, and even newer initiatives launching in October show great promise. We intend to maintain long-term attention on these areas, as they’re vital for our product’s ongoing development.
We’re also consistently monitoring the Lightning Network. Having evolved over many years, it represents a sustainable, long-term track highly conducive to deeper development. Recently, taproot assets launched on Lightning, and many projects have begun deploying services on it. These advances provide positive momentum for Bitcoin’s broader ecosystem. We’ll keep watching these spaces to ensure optimal user experience through our products and services.
How do you view the controversy around developers like Luke regarding the inscription ecosystem?
Kyle: On the controversy surrounding inscriptions, first, both the inscription ecosystem and multiple Bitcoin protocols are active research topics for our team. We regularly hold internal discussions and knowledge-sharing sessions to evaluate which technologies or protocols to support. Regarding current disputes, OKX Web3 Wallet—as an infrastructure and tool—takes no side toward any specific protocol or developer. While we’ve gained significant traffic and benefits from Ordinals, if technical issues disrupt this ecosystem, it would harm both our users and the broader market. Our goal remains delivering high-quality tools and wallet features, while also supporting protocols less affected by controversy, such as Lightning Network and SRC.
Jason Wang: Actually, we don’t rely heavily on traditional KPI systems. Like many modern internet companies—including ours—we prefer OKR (Objectives and Key Results) for goal setting and management. OKRs typically avoid rigid numerical targets, instead establishing broad, abstract goals for teams to pursue. Even if objectives aren’t fully met, effort throughout the process is valued. For an internet company, user scale is the most critical metric. Other indicators like transaction volume matter, but attracting more users to engage with our ecosystem, use our products, and spread positive word-of-mouth is what truly drives us today.
How are KPIs set? Market share? Revenue?
Jason Wang: KPIs are somewhat outdated. Today, leading internet companies—including ours—use OKRs to manage goals. OKRs don’t fixate on specific numbers, but define abstract or macro-level objectives, allowing teams to break down actionable steps. Not hitting the target isn’t failure if meaningful effort was made. For us, user count is the core metric. Transaction volume and similar metrics are secondary. Our primary aim is growing user participation in our ecosystem, enhancing product usage, and earning stronger user口碑—essentially, better reputation through real-world value.
How do you view the challenge of breaking MetaMask’s dominance?
Kyle: On challenging MetaMask’s monopoly, our core focus is user count—not profit, which isn’t our primary metric. We believe Web3 wallets will become the essential gateway for crypto users entering Web3, and this is a key investment area for the company. Our ambition goes beyond competing with MetaMask; it’s rooted in a long-term vision and belief in Web3.
Early wallets like MetaMask and Trust Wallet captured most early users, creating migration barriers that challenged OKX Web3 Wallet’s initial growth. Yet, with the rise of on-chain ecosystems—especially Bitcoin—we see massive opportunities. For example, MetaMask doesn’t support Bitcoin wallets, whereas we hold a clear edge here and have attracted many users.
Additionally, integrating exchange and wallet functions within a single mobile app is our unique innovation. This greatly simplifies access to Web3 for traditional traders. We’ve also launched MPC wallets and AA wallets, aiming to improve onboarding by simplifying concepts like private keys and seed phrases, reducing complexity in on-chain interactions.
Our goal is forging a distinct path to achieve a breakthrough leap. Unlike other exchanges, we won’t rely on token launches or airdrops to attract users. Instead, we prioritize user needs and product experience. With the proliferation of public chains, users often need numerous plugins to access different DApps. Our vision is simple: install OKX Wallet once, and access all DApps. Multi-chain support is central to our strategy—we now support over 80 public chains, more than any other wallet. We support heterogeneous chains like Bitcoin, Solana, Aptos, and all EVM-compatible chains—a major competitive advantage. Our BD team is actively securing direct integrations with top-tier DApps, so users will increasingly see leading protocols natively supporting our wallet.
How should one engage with the Bitcoin ecosystem, and which segment do you favor?
Kyle: On engaging with the Bitcoin ecosystem, I’m personally optimistic about Bitcoin’s future price. Next year brings multiple catalysts: the end of U.S. rate hikes, approval of spot ETFs, and the Bitcoin halving. As for the long-term viability of the Bitcoin ecosystem, while debated—especially among Bitcoin purists—looking back at this year’s innovations, the Ordinals protocol stands out as one of the greatest. Launched in March, first exploded in May, cooled through summer, then reignited in November—it demonstrated resilience and strong community consensus. Opportunities favor the prepared: those who started learning inscription tools and on-chain operations early stand to gain significantly.
On another front, Bitcoin miners will see increasing reliance on transaction fees as block rewards diminish post-halving. This is positive news for traditional miners, suggesting long-term potential in this area. That said, short-term trading in low-liquidity formats like inscriptions and BRC20 carries risks, especially during high volatility—caution is advised.
Jason Wang: From a market analysis standpoint, I’m bullish on the Lightning Network’s prospects. As infrastructure, it’s matured over years in offline payments. The recent introduction of taproot assets aims to stabilize Bitcoin’s payment volatility, enabling stablecoin issuers to join the network and promoting stablecoin transactions over Lightning. This could solve critical pain points in countries with unstable financial systems—such as in South America and Africa—greatly expanding Bitcoin’s utility as a payment method. That said, from an investment perspective, I urge cautious analysis. All investments carry risk—we never recommend specific projects. Decisions should be based on market conditions, future trends, and macro/micro analysis.
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