Company Profile
| Parent Company | Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd. (Seychelles-based operator) |
|---|---|
| Ownership | Private; minority investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE, NYSE parent) at $25B valuation (Mar 2026); founded by Star Xu |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California, USA (relocated Apr 2025; previously Seychelles) |
| Founded | 2013 (as Okcoin; rebranded to OKX in 2022) |
| Founders | Star Xu |
| CEO / Leadership | Star Xu (Founder & CEO); Hong Fang (President); regional CEOs (e.g., Roshan Robert - US CEO, Erald Ghoos - Europe CEO) |
| Employees | ~5,000 (1,001-5,000 per LinkedIn; plans to relocate up to 2,000 to US) |
Funding and Valuation
| Funding | No traditional VC funding rounds identified for core exchange; OKX Ventures (VC arm) invests in others; Mar 2026: minority investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) at $25B valuation (amount undisclosed, ~$200M per reports) |
|---|---|
| Revenue / Valuation | $25B valuation (Mar 2026 post-ICE investment); est. revenue $1.5B in 2024, $1.2B in Q2 2025 (unverified est.) |
Licensing and Regulation
US: Money Transmitter licenses... US (FinCEN) applied but withdrew HK VASP l...
US: Money Transmitter licenses in multiple states (e.g., Rhode Island, South Carolina / NMLS# 1767779, FinCEN MSB) / applied but withdrew HK VASP license (May 2024)
Native Token
OKB (utility/governance token for OKX ecosystem, X Layer network; deflationary via burns)
Regulatory History
Feb 2025
Pleaded guilty to operating unlicensed money transmitter in US, paid $504M penalty ($420M forfeiture + $84M fine) to DOJ for AML/KYC failures (facilitated $5B+ suspicious txns)
Apr 2025
Relaunched US operations post-settlement
May 2024
Withdrew HK VASP license app, ceased trading for HK users
Security Track Record
- No major exchange hacks reported
- minor user wallet incidents due to phishing/Trojan malware (not platform breach)
- shut down DeFi tool used by Lazarus Group (North Korea hackers, Mar 2025)
| Proof of Reserves | Active monthly PoR since 2022 (40th report Feb 2026); 100%+ ratios (e.g., BTC 106%, ETH 103%, USDT 109% as of Feb 2026; $26.7B primary assets); zk-STARK proofs |
|---|
Sister Brands
OKX Wallet (Web3/self-custody)OKCoin (US counterpart, transitioned to OKX)OKX Ventures (VC arm)predecessor: Okcoin/OKEx
Key Events
2013
Founded as Okcoin by Star Xu
2017
Rebranded/launched OKX in HK
2018
World's largest exchange by volume
Jan 2022: Rebranded from OKEx to OKX
2023
Applied for HK license (later withdrawn)
Feb 2025: US DOJ $504M settlement
Apr 2025: US relaunch & San Jose HQ
Mar 2026: ICE investment at $25B val, strategic partnership for tokenized assets