What is your impression of OKX? Is it “OKX? Isn’t it OKEx?” or “Seems like it has been around for a long time?” If these are your answers, then this article will take you back to review OKX’s 2023 and get to know OKX again!
(Table of Contents:
Recap of OKX’s 2023: OKB’s annual growth of 108%, 98% growth in Web3 wallet users
)
(Background:
Transformation of Exchanges: Binance’s market share reduced to 38% at the beginning of the year, OKX doubled its growth
)
Global second-largest exchange, leading in liquidity
Established, transparent asset reserves, experienced two bull and bear cycles
Attention to general investors and beginners
Exchange offers over 730 spot trading pairs; Web3 wallet DEX offers over 300K spot trading pairs
Redemption for professional traders: “Unified Account” and “Sub-account”
Sub-accounts designed for risk management
Unified account designed for fund efficiency
Leading one-stop DeFi ecosystem in the industry
Brand cross-industry collaborations
Summary
In 2023, as Bitcoin surged, the Web3 industry presented a new landscape, with the blooming of BRC-20, NFT, and other ecosystems. OKX, through cross-industry integration with sports and entertainment, established a brand new channel of communication, becoming a way for young users to access Web3 innovations.
The growth of OKX exchange last year was also evident. According to TokenInsight’s “2023 Cryptocurrency Exchange Annual Report” released last month, as of the end of last year, OKX’s market share rose to 16.1%, an annual increase of 4.3%, making it the second-largest exchange globally and the exchange with the largest growth in 2023.
(Source: TokenInsight, CoinMarketCap data shows that OKX’s derivatives trading volume in the past 24 hours was $12.64 billion, ranking second globally, and its spot trading volume exceeded $1.3 billion, ranking high in liquidity.
For users, liquidity is the second most important factor when choosing an exchange, with security being the first.
Established, transparent asset reserves, experienced two bull and bear cycles
After the FTX bankruptcy incident, the first requirement investors or users have for exchanges is security. As a veteran exchange established in 2017, OKX has experienced two bull and bear cycles.
If we consider last year’s bear market as a deleveraging or stress test, OKX has already passed two rounds of stress tests. Up to now, OKX has released asset reserve proofs for over 1 year for a total of 15 times, leading the industry in asset transparency.
OKX provides two types of asset proofs:
Third-party audited reserve proof
Merkle tree proof
(The latest one was done using zk-STARK): Users can check whether their assets are included in the exchange’s assets.
The latest reserve proof released by OKX shows that the reserve rate for BTC is 102%, and the reserve rates for ETH, USDT, and USDC are all 104%, with a total value of the four mainstream currencies reaching $14.9 billion. According to DefiLlama data, OKX’s total reserve asset value exceeds $15.6 billion, ranking second globally.
(Images: OKX official website)
Attention to general investors and beginners
In addition to the most important security and liquidity, OKX’s user-friendly interface has also been well received by users, with intuitive and clean design, and detailed tutorials for trading products.
OKX is the first exchange to integrate the exchange and its own developed Web3 self-custody wallet on the website, with “Profile” and “Overview” on the upper right corner. Users can set up identity verification and account settings in the profile and select spot trading, contract trading, and wealth management products in the overview according to their needs.
More importantly, OKX’s product design is comprehensive, supporting credit card purchases of cryptocurrencies, spot and contract trading, financial wealth management products, and even integrating Web3 self-custody wallets, providing one-stop services from deposit, trading, withdrawal, and offering a user-friendly web design that is easy to use.
OKX always insists on user-oriented needs. In 2023, OKX launched more than 10 new products such as Shark Fin, Snowball, Seagull, Yield Hunter, Strategy Copy, Spot Copy, Reverse Opening, etc., based on market demand, covering structured wealth management, strategy trading, and other business lines, creating a product matrix in different categories. While covering different user groups with various needs, the R&D team also continues to iterate existing products, making every effort to improve user experience.
As of December 2023, the number of users for strategy products exceeded 600,000, and the number of global users participating in financial products to “Earn Coins Easily” exceeded 500,000.
(Extended reading: Exchange: List of OKX’s Top 10 Popular Trading Strategies and Wealth Management Products)
(Image: OKX official website)
Here are the highlights of OKX for general traders and beginners:
OKX provides over 730 spot trading pairs (stablecoins and token-to-token trading), including mainstream cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin and WFI. Unlike other exchanges’ cluttered interfaces, OKX neatly categorizes trading pairs for users, including DeFi, GameFi, NFT, and meme coins, making it easy for users to navigate.
Of course, in addition to spot trading, OKX, which excels in derivative products, also offers leverage trading, perpetual contracts, options trading, and more. Experienced traders can amplify their profits through leverage trading, while beginners can use contracts for short-selling and hedging unnecessary risks.
Of course, leverage and contract trading carry higher risks, so OKX also offers “simulated trading” for users to familiarize themselves with contract trading or strategies like grid trading.
In addition to purchasing spot assets on OKX exchange, users can also trade over 300,000 tokens on OKX Web3 DEX, significantly improving investment efficiency and convenience. Many tokens that have not yet been listed on other exchanges can be found on OKX Web3 wallet, allowing users to get ahead in their investments.
(Image: OKX official website)
Redemption for professional traders: “Unified Account” and “Sub-account”
For professional traders, two things are crucial: risk management and fund efficiency.
Risk management includes risk identification and risk monitoring, finding the causes of losses, and regularly reviewing one’s own strategies. Without proper risk management, even the most experienced traders can face significant losses. Unfortunately, the cryptocurrency market is highly volatile, but exchanges have not designed corresponding risk control tools.
To address this, OKX introduced “sub-accounts”.
Sub-accounts designed for risk management
OKX can be divided into main accounts and sub-accounts, with sub-accounts linked to main accounts. Each sub-account can be treated as an independent account, and ordinary users can create up to 5 sub-accounts.
Sub-accounts are divided into regular sub-accounts and fund management sub-accounts. Regular sub-accounts assist in asset allocation, while fund management sub-accounts are developed for users who entrust their accounts to professional teams.
Trader Panda told the media that the benefit of sub-accounts is convenient portfolio management. He can execute different trading strategies in different sub-accounts. For example, Account A focuses on spot trading, Account B invests in OKX’s wealth management products, and Account C may involve high-risk or new trading strategies. Sub-accounts allow him to conveniently manage assets and review and modify strategies for high-risk trading strategies at any time.
Another benefit is risk control. As mentioned earlier, the cryptocurrency market is highly volatile. Panda states that his own trading is quite complex, requiring high fund efficiency. Sub-accounts allow him to isolate high-risk strategies, preventing interference between accounts.
(Image: OKX official website)
Unified account designed for fund efficiency
In fact, OKX launched the unified account in December 2020. After a global public beta test, the current unified account has undergone a comprehensive upgrade to the existing trading mechanism. In simple terms, the unified account breaks the settlement barriers between different products, improving traders’ fund efficiency.
For example, in Panda’s account, there are both BTC and ETH contracts. The margin for both contracts can be shared, and profits and losses can offset each other, thereby improving fund utilization efficiency.
However, if that’s all, it would underestimate OKX’s optimization of the unified account.
Now OKX’s unified account has three modes:
Simple trading mode: In this mode, users can participate in both spot and contract trading at the same time. For example, users can hold spot assets and buy put options to hedge against spot prices. In this mode, leverage and margin trading cannot be activated, mainly designed for novice investors or simple hedging needs.
Single-currency margin mode: This mode allows spot trading, leverage, perpetual contracts, futures contracts, and options. Contracts with the same settlement currency (e.g., both settled in USDT) can share margin, improving fund utilization efficiency, suitable for advanced investors.
Cross-currency margin mode: This mode allows cross-currency full-margin mode, and contracts with different currencies can also share margin, offsetting profits and losses. For example, BTC contracts and ETH contracts can share margin, breaking the limitations of different currencies, maximizing fund efficiency, and suitable for professional traders.
In addition to the unified account and sub-accounts, OKX also has other strategy trading options, such as spot/contract grid trading, heaven and earth/infinite grid trading, dollar-cost averaging strategy, portfolio arbitrage, iceberg strategy, time-weighted strategy, etc. Traders can develop their own strategies based on their needs.
Of course, OKX also provides various other trading services, such as strategy trading, copy trading, NFT trading, and even provides mining pool services as investment products.
Leading one-stop DeFi ecosystem in the industry
In terms of products, OKX is at the forefront of innovation, keeping up with industry trends and launching diversified products for users. The most impressive aspect is OKX’s rapid layout in the DeFi sector. In May last year, OKX Web3 wallet led the industry and launched the Bitcoin NFT Ordinals trading platform, supporting users to mint and trade Bitcoin NFT Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens.
Last month, OKX announced that it supports four new token standards: ARC-20, SRC-20, Runes, and DRC-20, making OKX the most advanced one-stop DeFi ecosystem in the Web3 industry. It is currently the largest token market in the industry.
(Extended reading: OKX Chief Innovation Officer Jason Lau: Unlocking the Innovation of Tokens, Connecting Multiple Protocols ARC-20, DRC-20…)
Brand cross-industry collaborations
In terms of brand, OKX has also expanded its brand influence through attending top cryptocurrency conferences and cross-industry collaborations with well-known Web2 brands. For example, last year, OKX became an important sponsor of major industry events such as Singapore’s TOKEN2049, Hong Kong’s Web3 Carnival, and Ethereum’s Devcon.
It has also successfully partnered with global events such as the Singapore F1 Grand Prix, Manchester City winning the UEFA Champions League, and becoming the exclusive Web3 partner of many major brands. In addition, OKX is the world’s first official sponsor of the golf team Majesticks GC. Renowned Middle Eastern singer and actor Ali Zafar serves as OKX’s global brand ambassador.
OKX is integrating and colliding with the Web3 industry and traditional industries, and is exploring new value in the process.
(Image: OKX)
Summary
Overall, as cryptocurrency trading enters the mainstream, exchanges are constantly iterating their services and products. In 2023, OKX has made rapid progress in brand, products, and security.
If you are a beginner, you can consider starting with a simulated portfolio. OKX also offers over 730 spot trading pairs.
If you are a professional trader, OKX’s market is comprehensive, offering leverage, perpetual contracts, futures, and options. The unified account and sub-accounts are good designs for increasing fund efficiency and risk control.
By paying attention to asset security, users can see that OKX regularly updates reserve proofs and Merkle tree proofs, providing traceable sources for users’ peace of mind.
In addition, copy trading services, strategy trading, NFT market, etc., enrich this trading market, allowing users to fully explore various possibilities in the cryptocurrency market.
In conclusion, besides its strength in contract trading, OKX has transformed into a globally oriented exchange and Web3 platform that offers various trading services and financial products designed for different types of investors. It has become a giant exchange that has a profound impact on the blockchain community and creates more possibilities for exploring the value of the cryptocurrency market.
(Image: OKX)
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