OKX President Hong Fang on MiCA, US Expansion, and the Future of Crypto Exchanges

After years of navigating regulatory hurdles as one of the fastest-growing crypto exchanges, OKX is looking to leverage one major win into a U.S. expansion.

The exchange recently became the first global platform to secure pre-authorizations under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, setting a precedent for the industry.

"It's years of efforts," OKX President Hong Fang told Coinage in a new interview, emphasizing the company's long-term investment in the European market. "We've been investing in Europe for almost five years now… having all the licenses and documents in place." While the achievement marks a strategic milestone, Fang is quick to point out that the real work is just beginning. "Next, is a lot more work."

The European push has been years in the making, but now OKX is also quietly putting in similar efforts to re-enter the U.S. crypto market. The exchange previously operated in the U.S. under the Okcoin brand up until the crypto de-banking crisis in 2023, but after a rebrand and regulatory recalibration, the company is looking to re-enter the American market with renewed momentum.

"We always believed that the U.S. is a major market," Fang said. "We have been in a quiet mode over the last two years… but in general, our strategy over the last three and four years has been pretty constant."

That strategy has differed from a few other exchanges in that OKX has been focused on leaning into Web3, merging centralized exchange (CeFi) reliability with decentralized (DeFi) innovation. As Fang explains, OKX is looking to positioning itself as the bridge between traditional finance and Web3, offering users the security and convenience of a regulated exchange while also promoting self-custody and onchain tools.

"We've been able to actually lay down the right foundation," Fang said, pointing to the success of the company’s Web3 wallet. By the end of 2024, OKX’s self-custody wallet had accumulated more assets under management than its CeFi business.

Trump’s Win and U.S. Regulatory Clarity

With President Trump's crypto agenda heating up, expectations for clearer crypto regulations are rising. While Fang insists the company’s long-term U.S. strategy remains unchanged, she acknowledged that a more favorable regulatory environment would make a difference.

"We also very much anticipate more regulatory clarity in the U.S. I think that would have a huge impact… particularly on the banking system," she said. Access to fiat on-ramps has been a critical bottleneck for crypto firms, and OKX is hopeful that under a new administration, the banking sector will be "more open and flexible."

OKX has been preparing for this moment behind the scenes, building out infrastructure that aligns with compliance expectations. The real test will come when the company attempts to go live in the U.S. market, where entrenched players like Coinbase dominate. Coinbase has leaned heavily into its Base Layer -2 network and non-crypto native wallet integrations, but OKX sees an opportunity to push even further.

"We really want to double down on this idea of a crypto super app," Fang said, emphasizing the company's focus on Web3-native tools. "We won't know until we are actually in the market and get real customer feedback."

Striking that balance will be key to OKX’s success. As more regulation comes to the industry, CeFi platforms will need to embrace compliance without losing the open ethos that makes crypto appealing in the first place. "It's all about governance," Fang said, explaining that centralized exchanges need robust internal controls while also working toward greater on-chain transparency. "It doesn’t mean that once it’s on-chain, it’s automatically 100% good governance… you actually need to figure out how to build that governance properly."

For now, the goal is to ramp things up in the U.S. over the course of 2025. As Fang says, OKX has been able to prove itself well enough overseas. Now, it's only a matter of time before competition begins back on U.S. soil.

"I cannot wait to bring our product back to the U.S.," she said.

Coinage members can watch our full episode with OKX President Hong Fang above. To support our community-owned outlet, own it with us, and unlock other exclusive benefits, mint one of our Membership Passes today or Stake with us today! Chat with Coinage in our Discord.