A New Chapter: Building Next-Generation Financial Infrastructure Our partnership with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) marks a significant moment in the development of OKX and the digital asset market as a whole. ICE has built and operates some of the world's most important financial infrastructure, including the New York Stock Exchange and global derivatives and clearing platforms. Their decision to invest in OKX and join our board reflects our shared belief that digital asset technology will play a lasting role in the future of financial markets. For OKX, this partnership also marks a new chapter in our expansion into the U.S. market. In many ways, we view our U.S. operations as a blank slate—an opportunity to thoughtfully build, constructively collaborate with regulators and stakeholders, and contribute to building market infrastructure that meets the standards of the world's most mature capital markets. Financial markets are undergoing a structural transformation. Blockchain technology enables assets to flow and settle globally with unprecedented efficiency. Artificial intelligence is reshaping how markets analyze information and manage risk. At the same time, expectations for security, transparency, and investor protection remain paramount. Next-generation financial infrastructure must integrate these elements. We see a highly promising area in the development of tokenized securities and the digital representation of traditional assets. In the future, issuers may be able to issue securities directly to global investors through modern digital infrastructure, while also benefiting from the governance, market structures, and regulatory frameworks that have long defined traditional exchanges. Partnering with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and the broader New York Stock Exchange ecosystem provides a unique opportunity to explore how these models can evolve responsibly. Our focus extends beyond new technologies. It's about building the enduring infrastructure of the global financial system. This includes improving market structures, strengthening risk management and clearing frameworks, expanding institutional access to digital assets, and creating platforms that both protect consumers and foster innovation. OKX currently serves over 120 million users globally and operates within the licensed frameworks of major financial jurisdictions. Over the past decade, we have built high-performance trading systems, on-chain technology, payment systems, and security frameworks to support large-scale global markets. As digital assets continue to mature, we believe collaboration between technology innovators and established financial institutions is crucial. Our partnership with ICE is based on this principle. Together, we will explore how traditional exchange infrastructure and digital asset technology can complement each other to build stronger and more efficient markets. This investment is not the end, but the beginning of deeper collaboration. Our goal is to help shape the future of financial markets, enabling digital and traditional infrastructure to work together to expand market access and enhance trust.

OKX OnchainOS combines powerful AI with on-chain infrastructure to accelerate development and unlock new possibilities for AI agents. The next wave of on-chain innovation will no longer rely on manual operation, but will be driven by the agent economy—tools like OnchainOS will help achieve this goal.

OKX has successfully obtained a Payments Institution (PI) license ahead of the new EU regulations taking effect in March of this year. This reflects our strategy of serving the European market since OKX's inception. From advanced tools like Spot Margin to user-friendly products like OKX Earn, and convenient payment services like OKX Card & Pay, our strategy has always been to build a platform that truly serves European users and meets European standards at scale. However, scaling requires robustness, and robustness requires a license. The acquisition of the Malta Payments Institution license enhances our ability to support stablecoin-related payment services and fully complies with MiCA and PSD2 requirements, while also reinforcing our commitment to excellent governance, consumer protection, and operational efficiency. For users, most importantly, everything remains the same. You will continue to enjoy a seamless trading, profit-making, and payment experience, now protected by a stronger regulatory foundation. For our team, this is another significant milestone in building a digital asset infrastructure that can compete with traditional financial institutions. Europe is a key market for digital assets, and we are committed to long-term growth. This is another important step we are taking toward this goal.

At first glance, this seems reasonable—but it's actually a false equating. Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and centralized exchanges (CEXs) play distinctly different roles. Open, permissionless access belongs to DEXs; responsibility, standards, and accountability belong to CEXs. DEXs are purely self-custodial tools. The service provider is not an intermediary and does not control user funds. Users interacting with DEXs understand—or should understand—that they are using a tool and are fully responsible for their actions. As SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated: “Self-custodial ownership of personal property is a fundamental American value that should not disappear just because people log onto the internet.” In contrast, CEXs act as banks, holding user funds in custody. Therefore, they have explicit obligations regarding anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions compliance, fraud prevention, and consumer protection. CEXs are not neutral conduits. They carry trust and bear operational responsibility, and therefore have an obligation to protect users, not just list all transactions. Conflating decentralized exchanges (DEXs) with centralized exchanges (CEXs) is not open and transparent. It's an attempt to evade responsibility. This fundamental distinction reflects a long-standing value difference between OKX and Binance.

There was nothing complicated about it, nor was it unexpected. The 10/10 incident was caused by irresponsible marketing campaigns by certain companies. On October 10th, hundreds of billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency were liquidated. As the CEO of OKX, we clearly observed that the microstructure of the cryptocurrency market underwent a fundamental change afterward. Many industry insiders believe that the losses caused by this incident were more severe than the FTX crash. Since then, there has been extensive discussion about the causes of the incident and how to prevent it from happening again. The root cause is not difficult to find. ⸻ The Incident's Course 1. Binance launched a limited-time user acquisition campaign, offering a 12% annualized yield on USDe, while allowing USDe to be used as collateral, treated the same as USDT and USDC, with no effective limits. 2. USDe is a tokenized hedge fund product. Ethena raised funds through so-called "stablecoins," invested them in index arbitrage and algorithmic trading strategies, and tokenized the resulting funds. Users could then deposit these tokens into exchanges to earn returns. 3. USDe is fundamentally different from products like BlackRock BUIDL and Franklin Templeton BENJI, which are low-risk tokenized money market funds. In contrast, USDe carries hedge fund-level risk. This difference is structural, not superficial. 4. Binance encourages users to exchange USDT and USDC for USDe to earn attractive returns, but it doesn't adequately emphasize the potential risks. From a user's perspective, trading USDe is no different from trading traditional stablecoins, but the actual risk is much higher. 5. The risk is further amplified when users perform the following actions: • Exchange USDT/USDC for USDe, • Borrow USDT using USDe as collateral, • Exchange the borrowed USDT back for USDe, • Repeat the above cycle. This leveraged cycle artificially creates annualized returns of 24%, 36%, or even over 70%, which are widely considered "low-risk" because they are offered by large platforms. Systemic risks have accumulated rapidly in the global cryptocurrency market. Even minor market shocks have been enough to trigger a crash. Following increased volatility, USDe quickly decoupled from the US dollar. This was followed by a chain of liquidations, and deficiencies in risk management of assets like WETH and BNSOL further exacerbated the collapse. Some tokens were brought close to zero at one point. The losses suffered by users and companies worldwide (including OKX users) have been severe, and recovery will take time. ⸻ Why this is crucial I am discussing the root causes here, not blaming or attacking Binance. Openly discussing systemic risks can sometimes be uncomfortable, but it is necessary if the industry is to mature responsibly. I anticipate a significant amount of misinformation and organized panic targeting OKX in the near future. Even so, speaking openly about systemic risks remains the right thing to do—and we will continue to do so. As the world's largest platform and an industry leader, Binance wields enormous influence and bears corresponding responsibility. Long-term trust in cryptocurrencies cannot be built on short-term profit speculation, excessive leverage, or marketing tactics that conceal risks. The industry needs leaders who prioritize market stability and transparency.

Payment methods should not just be slightly improved, but substantially enhanced. With compliant on-chain payment solutions like OKX Pay and OKX Card, we are building a future currency that truly integrates into daily life.

OKX Pay and Card will soon cover 30 European Economic Area countries. We look forward to your feedback so we can continuously improve our products.

OKX Web3 has officially launched its new trader mode, Smart Account, designed to help users participate in on-chain trading more efficiently and intelligently. Smart Account integrates powerful features such as Scanner and Tracker to help users discover trading opportunities, track top traders, and manage trading strategies in real time. We welcome everyone to try it out and provide feedback on your experience. We will continue to iterate and refine the on-chain trading experience.

OKX Web3 has launched Smart Accounts, our brand-new trading mode designed to help users trade on-chain more intelligently. Smart Accounts feature powerful features such as scanners and trackers, making it easier for you to discover trading opportunities, follow top traders, and manage your trading strategies in real time. We invite you to try it out and share your feedback so we can continuously improve the user experience.

Another important lesson from 2025 is: purge harmful individuals as early as possible. They fear the truth, hide behind obscure rhetoric, use silence as a weapon, and manipulate organizations for personal gain. Once exposed, they retaliate, leave, and then repeat the same mistakes elsewhere.