OKX launches its crypto exchange in Australia for wholesale and retail customers

What’s new? OKX has officially launched a cryptocurrency exchange in Australia, it offers spot trading services to all local users, while derivatives trading is only available to verified wholesale customers, the company said in a statement. Deposits and withdrawals in Australian dollars are available through most local banks, and the platform offers 85 cryptocurrencies and 170 spot trading pairs.

Press release

What else is known? OKX President Hong Fang praised the Australian authorities’ approach to regulating the crypto sector, which he said has created a comprehensive transparent regulatory framework. He also added that OKX was the first in the local market to offer wholesale derivatives trading combined with a non-custodial crypto wallet.

The launch comes a year after OKX opened its Sydney office and began building a team of specialists in the areas of management, legal, and compliance. “I’m proud to say we have assembled a great local team that will ensure OKX contributes to Australia’s crypto industry for years to come,” said Jamie Kennedy, general manager of OKX Australia.

OKX is actively expanding its global presence, earlier this year it received a virtual asset services provider license in Dubai and a principle license in Singapore, as well as launching a localized Turkish platform.

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In April, OKX launched its own Layer 2 (L2) network with zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) technology on the Ethereum blockchain called X Layer, which gives the exchange’s 50 million users access to decentralized applications (DApps).

In April, OKX ranked third among centralized crypto exchanges (CEXs) in terms of trading volume with over $110,7 billion, behind only Binance and Bybit, according to The Block. OKX posted the largest market share gain (+4,3%) at the end of last year.

According to RootData, OKX Ventures made 30 investments in Q1 of this year, making it the most active company by this measure. OKX Ventures backed 30 startups, including L2-network developer Eclipse Labs, Web 3.0 infrastructure company 0G Labs, Solana-protocol io.net, and others.

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Meanwhile, OKX withdrew from the Indian market on April 30, citing regulatory concerns, with media later reporting the firing of two senior executives at the exchange.