Dialogue with Lennix, Global Chief Business Officer of OKX: How to Define the New Generation of Web3 Product Forms

During the Web3 Carnival event week, ChainCatcher had an in-depth conversation offline with Lennix Lai, the Global Chief Business Officer of OKX.

Lennix joined OKX in 2017, becoming a core member of the company's early team. He has 15 years of experience in the financial services and cryptocurrency industry, having previously worked at JPMorgan, AIG, and CASH. As one of the earliest "OGs" in the industry, Lennix has witnessed the entire evolution of cryptocurrency from a geek experiment to a Wall Street asset. He believes that each transformation pushes the crypto industry toward a more central stage, and the key question now is how to find a balance between compliance and decentralization.

The focus of this conversation was OKX's "breakthrough strategy" as a leading global exchange. Recently, the OKX DEX paused services due to a technical upgrade, drawing market attention. Lennix responded in detail for the first time to the challenges behind this and future plans. He revealed that the upgraded DEX will integrate on-chain monitoring and anti-money laundering tools, and will attempt to achieve a fusion of "user-friendly" and "compliance safety" in self-custody wallets. This attempt may signal the future form of Web3 products.

From technical controversies to mainstream acceptance, from wild growth to compliance survival, Lennix's perspective not only reflects the industry's transformation but also reveals OKX's core strategy in this long race: finding the pivot that is "both safe and free" on the "broad road" of innovation and regulation.

1. ChainCatcher: As an OG in the Web3 industry and an early employee of OKX, you have witnessed the development of multiple cycles in the industry. During this time, what changes in the Web3 industry have impressed you the most?

Lennix: What impresses me most in my experience in the industry is not just individual events, but those milestone moments that touched the very foundation of the ecosystem and promoted the evolution of technology and ideas. First, the early debates about the technical roadmap of Bitcoin—such as the block size debate and the resulting community divisions and forks—seemed like a purely technical game on the surface, but they contained a profound exploration of the balance between decentralization, scalability, and security. It was during that time that we witnessed how the entire crypto world drew its momentum from diversity and learned to view technical choices with inclusiveness and dialectical thinking.

Second, the launch of Bitcoin futures contracts by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange at the end of 2017 marked the first time traditional financial institutions offered standardized financial products for Bitcoin. This was not just the birth of a financial tool, but a reflection of the mainstream market's initial recognition of crypto assets. From that point on, I began to see institutional investors and regulators gradually getting involved, laying the foundation for subsequent technological iterations and the maturation of market mechanisms.

Third, the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs in early 2024 once again pushed Bitcoin into the mainstream market, bringing unprecedented liquidity and confidence to the entire crypto industry, and pointing the way for how the global financial system could integrate digital assets in the future, facilitating a more mature and diverse industry.

2. Recently, OKX DEX paused services due to a technical upgrade. Is this move related to compliance requirements? Regarding community speculation about compliance needs, could you elaborate on the real reasons for the service suspension and discuss the future development plans for OKX DEX?

Lennix: From the very beginning, we have been committed to building a fully decentralized, self-custody Web3 tool. At the same time, our business also includes a globally compliant exchange, and we must meet strict regulatory expectations. This technical upgrade is being carried out in this context: we are introducing more compliance components and on-chain monitoring tools to improve our product. This is not just a directional choice for OKX, but should be the future development path for all Web3 products.

Looking ahead, I believe the development of the OKX DEX aggregator will focus on several directions: On one hand, we aim to achieve a CEX-level smooth trading experience in the DEX while ensuring decentralization. On the other hand, we will further reduce the costs of cross-chain asset transfers and improve transaction speed, providing users with more convenient multi-chain asset management; additionally, we will strengthen account security and recovery mechanisms in self-custody environments while introducing on-chain monitoring and anti-money laundering functions. To this end, we will continue to innovate, enhance security measures, protect customer interests, and promote the establishment of a more transparent and responsible crypto asset ecosystem.

3. ChainCatcher: In the context of tightening compliance trends, will OKX, as the first innovative platform to integrate an exchange and a Web3 wallet within the same app, make any new adjustments to this strategy?

Lennix: I believe that the strategy of integrating an exchange and a Web3 wallet within the same app remains a long-term and resilient choice. In the future, wallet functions in centralized exchanges may only retain the most basic parts that seamlessly connect with user experience, while more versatile and flexible wallet services will still exist in the form of independent apps. This does not mean our strategy will change; rather, it indicates that we can flexibly adjust according to different countries and regions' regulatory requirements for wallet functions.

From a deeper perspective, we need to examine this issue from both centralized and decentralized directions—this is not just a matter of product interface, but an ecological layout. Whether integrated into the same app or split into two platforms, the core goal is to provide users with an efficient and seamless trading and asset management experience while ensuring safety and compliance. Ultimately, what we aim to do is balance user autonomy in asset management with the efficient experience of traditional exchanges in a strictly regulated environment. In summary, whether integrated into a single app or separated into two apps is not important.

4. ChainCatcher: What are the main strategies currently adopted by OKX Web3 in terms of ecological cooperation? What will be the focus of future development?

For me, the core of OKX Web3 ecological cooperation lies in creating a diverse and open "pool." This "pool" includes various Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks, as well as covering multiple niche areas such as NFTs, GameFi, and Ordinals. We have been empowering our ecological partners with products and technology—although we may not fully grasp each partner's technological development roadmap, we are willing to support you, empower you, bring you traffic, and optimize user experience to make it as easy as possible for users to engage. At the same time, this involves some relatively niche technologies, new trends, and new asset types. We will start from user experience, striving to lower the barriers for users to access and use these technologies or assets, enabling them to get started more easily.

Moreover, with a user base of millions, we will inject vitality into the entire ecosystem, promoting growth and innovation across various fields. In the future, we will continue to focus on enhancing user experience and simplifying technology applications while stimulating community power to jointly promote the continuous evolution of the ecosystem. Ultimately, the future direction of the ecosystem will be determined by the market and the community, while we will always play a role in facilitating and supporting.

5. ChainCatcher: Which ecosystems or sectors are you currently optimistic about?

Lennix: I see great potential in products that exist in the intermediate state between Web2 and Web3—commonly referred to as Web2.5 products, such as stablecoins and RWAs. These assets leverage blockchain technology not only to amplify the functions of traditional assets but also to significantly reduce the costs of education and global promotion, achieving global circulation of assets. At the same time, blockchain technology allows these assets to flow across chains and introduces various yield models, creating unprecedented use cases, which is precisely the direction that Web3 should focus on in the future. Furthermore, we may even redefine certain fields.

For example, the payment sector has long faced complex issues such as high costs, slow speeds, and compliance challenges with third-party payment companies. Blockchain technology can effectively address these issues, with costs potentially being just one-millionth of traditional methods, or even lower. In terms of asset delivery and settlement, traditional methods may require T+3 models and necessitate margin deposits to complete transactions. However, with blockchain technology, this can now be accomplished in about 10 minutes, greatly enhancing the efficiency of asset transfers. Traditional assets have also seen significant improvements in the blockchain space. For instance, the liquidity fragmentation problem commonly seen in traditional financial markets can be alleviated through blockchain technology, lowering the barriers to entry for buying and selling, allowing high-value assets that were previously limited to a few wealthy individuals, such as U.S. Treasury bonds and U.S. dollars, to benefit a broader user base. I believe the future Web3 ecosystem will aim to redefine and innovate concepts such as traditional assets and payments, leveraging blockchain to achieve global free circulation of assets while providing users with a new, low-cost, and high-efficiency experience.

6. ChainCatcher: What role will OKX Web3 play in this "Web2.5" trend?

Lennix: The current development of Web3 is in a unique "intermediate state": on one hand, we pursue decentralization, while on the other hand, we must comply with increasingly stringent global regulations. OKX Web3 stands at the intersection of these two aspects, serving as a communicator and bridge. This is reflected not only in our products and technology but also extends to our comprehensive considerations of language expression, compliance systems, legal norms, and team collaboration.

Our platform has earned the trust of Web3 users, who value decentralization and security; at the same time, global banks and regulatory institutions also recognize our capabilities, believing that we can provide a sufficiently stable, secure solution that achieves risk isolation. This dual recognition injects strong momentum into our role in this Web2.5 trend.

In the future, we will continue to move in this direction, leveraging our advantages in products, technology, and compliance to promote a strategic layout that balances decentralized innovation with regulatory compliance. Regardless of how the external environment changes, our goal remains to establish an open and responsible ecosystem, setting a trustworthy benchmark for the entire industry.

Disclaimer:

This article is for reference only. It does not intend to provide (i) investment advice or recommendations, (ii) offers, solicitations, or inducements to buy, sell, or hold digital assets, or (iii) financial, accounting, legal, or tax advice. Digital assets (including stablecoins and NFTs) are subject to market fluctuations, involve high risks, and may depreciate. For questions regarding whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you, please consult your legal/tax/investment professionals. The OKX Web3 wallet is merely a self-custody wallet software service that allows you to discover and interact with third-party platforms; the OKX Web3 wallet cannot control the services of such third-party platforms and assumes no responsibility for them. Not all products are available in all regions. You are responsible for understanding and complying with applicable local laws and regulations. The OKX Web3 wallet and its related services are not provided by the OKX exchange and are subject to the terms of service of the OKX Web3 ecosystem.