Starting with spot, but then what? OKX is looking to rebuild its ‘super app’ in the US, CEO Roshan Robert says

President Trump was not yet reelected when OKX, the Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange, tapped Roshan Robert in September to lead the company’s risky expansion into the U.S. Whether the country went red or blue, OKX wanted in. 

One could see why the exchange went for Robert. He was a Barclays executive at the time the Dodd-Frank regulations were being implemented after the financial crisis. And, for several years, he was the chief commercial and chief operating officer of Hidden Road, which he co-founded. 

“Essentially, the foundational principles on which we’ve launched OKX in the U.S. is quite similar to everything that I’ve built over the past many years,” Robert told The Block in an interview, noting he had “played a role” in helping the Barclays futures desk navigate the newly created regulations.

In other words, he could help steer a ship in regulated or unregulated waters. Although Robert joined last year, the exchange only announced his hiring and its intent to enter the U.S. market last month. This came after a $500 million settlement with the Department of Justice, which alleged the exchange served domestic customers without a proper license.

While few could have predicted the regulatory wins being notched by the U.S. crypto industry now — from progress made on multiple stablecoin and market structure bills to the rolling back of aggressive securities law enforcement — it certainly seems like a fortuitous time to launch a crypto company in the country. 

So far, since September, OKX US has grown to about 500 employees across three cities — New York, San Francisco, and a headquarters in San Jose.

“The U.S. is no longer what you would consider as an impossible market,” Robert said. “It’s an untapped opportunity if approached in the right manner.”

According to The Block data, OKX is the second-most active exchange by trading volume, behind Binance. 

OKX US intends to expand by putting compliance first. As of Tuesday, the firm has picked up licenses to operate in “47 odd U.S. states and a few territories,” like Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. The aim is to start small, beginning with centralized spot trading and a “full feature” web3 wallet. 

But OKX is also a company with a pedigree and a long line of products. “Our long-term vision, of course, is to become a category-defining super app. And we plan to slowly work towards that goal,” Robert said. 

This includes finding a way to bring over all of OKX’s existing business lines  — from payments to complex derivatives products — as well as becoming a leader in the emerging world of real-world assets, Robert said. Including meeting both institutional and retail demand. 

“OKxPay is a key product for us,” he said. 

“We’ve announced certain partnerships with global firms outside the U.S., and we’re looking to see how best we can leverage those partnerships in the U.S. as well,” he said. “I still think that we are probably two to five years away from the derivatives market actually expanding to a state where it should be.”

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