crypto exchanges
Lennix Lai – OKEx Exchange Transcript
Note: This transcript was automatically generated by artificial intelligence (AI) and therefore typos may be present.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
Hey folks Rob McNealy here. And today, I’m pretty excited. We are talking to Lennox law. He’s Director of Financial markets of the oke x exchange. And they’re one of the biggest exchanges in the world. And I’m really excited to see what they’re up to. So Lennox, how are you today?
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Hi, Rob. Yeah, sure. I’m really appreciated as we on the call. We were happy to see you folks here.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
Well, so, um, let’s just jump right in here. And, you know, tell me a little bit about Okay, x hat, and how did you get involved with the crypto exchange world?
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Yeah, my other background, the traditional finance background. So basically, I was a quon trader in Hong Kong for around 10 years. So I’m, I’m also kind of like compliance and regulatory guys in Hong Kong. So, like three and a half years ago, that’s where we’d like to join. Okay, yes. Because Because the okay group back in the time, would like to expand the exchange business internationally. back in time we are, we’re actually very big in China already. We overing Bitcoin Exchange servers for local currency, that becoming one of the best one of the biggest crypto exchange in China already, and we would like to expand to the international market. So that’s the reason I joined and starting to build and branded as the name of Okay, yes, the Okay, x name, actually very benchmarking Hong Kong exchange is also called H key x. So we will lie to branding, our exchanging expertise, and also the traditional financial knowledge, so to brand in the world to bring crypto to traditional finance. So that’s how it gets done for Okay, it’s like three and a half years ago.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
So what would you say some of the biggest challenges are of running an international exchange right now.
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
So we are actually one of the earliest player in the field. So back its time we gather a lot of good player like pinole nacer, but Phoenix, Khan base already in place cracking, that’s all the big we’re, we’re accurate, very, very small compared for we’re the biggest player back in the field. So good. So we think we we are facing several challenges. First, we are primarily and very, very Chinese based exchange. So everything in terms of the team in terms of the product, in terms of the gods are all very, very Chinese. So we have to change the entire organization style, the language or the culture within the organization. So if you think about it, every every, every anyone will ever run come in your thing that would actually agree that changing the culture changing how an organization work, can put upside down use agile for football. So bringing the international value and international culture back to your very China exchange is the most complex and complicated task that we ever engage. And also, we we do have a lot of problem on our product. So so we have to SM be a team with the financial known edge cells to completely redesign for every single aspect of all okay, yes, from all across all our products, spot derivative, so everything else from the gods. So I think that might be yourself a big challenge we we come across, but at the same time, we are facing regulatory challenge all around the world. So that we have the assembly of really big compliance teams to tackle regulation everywhere, and apply proper licensing and getting the proper sandbox in crypto. So while we’re talking to regulators, we have splaying of this as well to convince that we are trying to be a good guy. So we have to, I think, in general, we, we are actually building a rocket, but at the same time we are driving a Ferrari. That’s, that’s the whole that’s the summary.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
Well, you know, I like Ferrari, so that’s good. But so what would you say the, the biggest challenges from a regulatory standpoint, at least geographically, which countries are the hardest ones to work in?
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Yeah, I think back in time, like 2017 2018 our, I think all the Gulf Money can’t like being skeptic or some, some of them are actually quite hostile to, to crypto or to virtual currency. They have no knowledge at all to what’s going on in Bitcoin area. They are actually interest but they think that virtual currency or crypto actually engage a lot in unless it activities, anti money laundering. There’s some of the areas that regulators are mostly very concerned. And at the same time they’re trying to fit in, they’re trying to bring crypto try to explain crypto in a way that the current regulation that they’re already implementing, they’re trying to fit and crypto onto their current regulation, which is very difficult. So. So back in 2017 2018, most of our job is to explain to our regulators, to all those regulated, hey, this is crypto, this is just some kind of digital xx. And this is some kind of a digital asset that we would only allow KYC people to buy or sell, and exactly like a meeting your financial standard that your AML standards, so to explain all those stuff to all kind of regulators. So we starting to see some progress. So we see the US come over digital as a framework. We see some of the government like multiskilled, Malta government to have a virtual currency framework. We see Korea and Japanese government, they do endorse and have some kind of regulation related to cryptocurrency after after the industrial of commitment for around two years or more.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
So would you say is there a particular jurisdiction that’s been harder to work with?
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
I think there’s no jurisdiction that is hard to work with as long as they they are open to talk about are they’re not being hostile companies shut the door. Most of the jurisdiction I would say they would eager, eager to learn were, were very eager to learn from the biggest player in the field. They will like to understand they of course, they will raise a lot of question. But each of us have the jurisdiction of particular friendly, like a Singaporean governments and the Korean government. And even the Maltese government actually quite proactive to want to draft local regulation or specific regulation just for crypto. The other jurisdiction, I think they are very interest, they would like to bring in the crypto, the crypto xx into debt, the security law, or the derivative law, they are interest, but at the same time, they were actually very difficult for them to to actually blend in the current regulations.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
How do you see things like the travel rule affecting your operations?
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
I think the travel rule did actually spend spent a lot of effort for us to completely redesigned out how the how the AML KYC would be implemented into into the current operation. So before that is accurate, we don’t need to, we only need to worry about the global standards update our KYC AML AML. But travel rules actually means that we have to specifically design our checking procedures for all the European biggest customers across the field. I don’t think that is a trouble a big problem to our operation. But it’s just caught one of the costs of the business if you want to play the field with the big boy, we want to be a global platform. That’s just part of the cost of operation. We’re happy to pay for that.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
So do you have much of a footprint you would say in the United States at this point?
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
We don’t have we don’t allow us customers at the moment that is fun. It’s fun time.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
Is that something you’re going to do in the future? You think you don’t have to look if it’s proprietary you don’t have to answer but I was just curious is that on your roadmap?
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Actually we do have a partner exchange as you belong to a similar group is called okay con. So a ready get up basically orderlies in in us say over the open to the US customers. So it’s really completely different platform is that is basically a partner with Okay, yes. But only that the product that available on Okay, Khan platform is very very different than OKEx, but the technology and the and and the matching engine is using similar technology OKEx.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
Actually got the one of their marketing guys is coming on my show on Wednesday. This week.
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
That’s awesome.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
Sure. So yeah, it’s gonna be fun. And so I think, you know, that’s always fascinating to me is, you know, how, you know, the regulatory piece of this looks from the inside. Like I always say, when I’m when you know, I’m kind of mixed, are kind of in a weird position, because I also have a project, but I’m also you know, and you doing a podcast and things. So it’s like, when I see crypto from a very different angle on because on the project side, you see, you see the world very differently in crypto when you’re working inside of it. And, you know, you see all the warts, and, you know, the good and the bad all the way around. But I always like to hear, you know, what does it look like on the exchange side, because, you know, there’s a lot of there’s a lot of, you know, unscrupulous exchanges out there. And I can tell you, having dealt with several of them in the past myself, and so that’s why I’m always interested in you know, the more legitimate exchanges like okay, x in what they’re doing and how they’re handling it. So let’s shift gears a little bit. You know, there’s, there’s a lot of exchanges out there. That seemed to be dodging regulation as part of their business model. I’m not gonna name names. Mm hmm. But there’s some exchanges that you don’t even know where they’re where they’re domiciled.
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Mm hmm.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
In the row, and so since you don’t know where they’re domiciled, and it’s even interesting, even with smaller exchanges, you know, you go look up try to look up information on the exchange. And on coin market cap, it says they’re based here, and then you go to their website, and it says, their base there and you never know where they’re really located. And, and so that’s always kind of a red flag for me, is, especially at the centralized exchange, because they’re not you don’t know where they are. So there’s supposed to be a centralized routing, that correct, there’s no central location to go. And I’m not saying you should go after people, but, you know, you don’t know who these people are, in some cases or where they are right. And it seems like some of these exchanges are doing it deliberately to avoid complying with you know, international regulations. Again, not going to name names but how do you guys compete with that?
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
We don’t need to compete wave the wave this some the exchange was smaller Sykes Chang that’s trying to doubt regulations, okay. He exists 1000 people group already so we cannot doubt any regulation, we actually equally comply to the jurisdiction that we allow to surface that we offer our service, we cannot we have to we have 1000 people to be responsible. But for all the other smaller sigh exchange, they have the reason maybe they have the reason to, to try and get up regulation as much as they can, because some of the really small sites chain is kind of like us using hidden ranch approach. They just want to open a small exchange trying to grab the users based on can’t if there’s some trouble there’s as close down and reopen Yeah, in another one using similar technologies. And so, so, so, of course, I would like to invite other users to be aware of the of the of the of the really, really small size exchange, and they you and you basically apparently you cannot find where they are they do they do not have a register overs, or they do not have a property you may you don’t need to know where they base, they don’t show up on time. So, and some exchanges do not have a long history with short history you you have to be be aware of that because talking about central exchange, meaning that all the crypto acts act as an custody with the with the hand of the founding team or the wallet team. So so so actually, you carry a lot a lot of counterparty risk, if you will lie to trade with them. So girl someday, some of this most exchange also do not have a high priority or high high scrutiny of the project that allowed it to list on the exchange. Most of the exchange mode most of the project is required to pay a huge sums of listing fee in order to get listed two bonds of small exchange that grabs exposure users, traders as they can and try to win the way in in a relatively short period of time. The the opening exchange in terms of module cars is relatively easy. But running an exchange operation with proper cyber security Republic compliance team, the proper operation team is take the years of years of efforts. So I would also always to emphasize the SSA only focus on the major exchange in the world because they already there they have the history and and and protecting your crypto execs from millions of millions hacker in the world is not an easy task. It’s a date and day by day commitment. So we we care a lot about our reputation, we care a lot about regulation, we have to comply everywhere in terms of regulation. So it’s I don’t think it’s the as a direct competition with us, compared with the other smaller exchanges.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
So right now the the best I can see there’s at least probably, I don’t know, 500 exchanges out there right now floating around. And there seems to be more popping up, you know, every single day. And there also seems to be a lot more decks is kind of in various, you know, stages of development. Oh, how do you see the market for exchanges in the future? Do you think centralized exchanges are going to be you know, the most popular? Do you think dex is going to become more popular? Do you think there’ll be more exchanges out there fewer exchanges, what do you think your? What do you think the future is gonna hold that way?
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Yeah, I think I think that the potential with DAX is actually for interesting. So that’s can be the only problem for DAX maybe before or, or for this few years, as people have been talking about. It’s mostly related to the capacity, the technological capacity of whatever chain, whatever blockchain that you’re implementing. So but we see silver these years that we see a lot of breakthrough in the under underlying technologies that have a huge promise on on the TPS, that transactional per seconds, right now, per blots. So those look like that DAGs, if they can manage to handle a search even a certain portion of the trading volume, that’s currently our central exchange is currently trading per day, I think that would give us an interesting use case potential to crypto so that everyone will would able to trade universally. And also everyone collects their own token universally, and that technologic technology is free. It’s open source. So everyone would have the capability to operate to open it DAGs and, and and eventually, everyone can compete with each other with a unique event age or unique appetite to different tokens. So tasks can be can be very interesting. Can I think if somehow, if the technic tech, technical side, transform your technical side becoming really promising, like the TPS reaches certain thresholds, and it’s safe enough to be trustable to two to four traders, and the UI and UX the user experience side of using das has been substantially improved it the tags in terms of trading volume and the size can could be grows exponentially. But while the central exchange, I think that’s still play a very important a crucial role. In in crypto in crypto x RP uses carry a lot of expect in in, in, in in define. So for example, like center central exchanges do are happening to having a lot of products very complex product that’s basically right now cannot cannot able to cannot able to undertake by the tax for now, for example, like derivatives of perpetual swap, we’re talking about millions of millions of borders or of thousand thousand trade per days, but it cannot be executed with our proper high frequency matching engine at this point moment.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
So essentially, as the technology improves, and maybe you start getting these non custodial cross, you know, chain indexes, those are probably increase over time, but it’s just not quite there yet, I guess.
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Yeah, I think I think it’s getting a lot faster right now, but per lepromatous standing, we’re talking about some of the Kings don’t care about thousand TPS compared to 20 or 30, TPS in one or two years ago. So if it is go around two or three times more, I think we can handle probably on spot exchange ready. And some of the really, and, and I’m talking about some of the DAX, that’s able to manage derivatives, if they are able to manage the liquidation engine of the derivatives under this certain time of DAX under that under, under, there’s a dow around 1000. TPS, that will be so interesting because because read when you’re talking about highly leveraged Chang, when the market is move, you have to execute and use, you have to send your orders in the blink of a second otherwise, otherwise, you’re you’re you you would trigger Casa de liquidation or you create, you create problem of trouble in onto your problem, I’ll do a platform. So that I will be very, very interesting to see that how does handle highly leveraged instruments?
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
It’ll be interesting. What’s your take on the latest sushi sandwiches and hamburger de fi products that are out there?
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Yep. I think that everything is everything is looking to be right now is having having an insanely high yield for some of the token, I think, in general, I think is an other way for distributing token or distributing newly the newly minted token to user this looks exactly like the another way of the Ico or default token in 2017. Or, or or or the ieo. That that changed initial offering is a new or or B. I think it does vary because airdrops so whoever carrier one token you got, you got a candy. We’re called airdrop tokens free token from the token. So similar mechanism. The ultimate purpose is is also a sales of my own newly minted token. But what defy or sushi or hamburger was over sashimi is actually having a mechanism in place, meaning that you have to stick one token first, for for an for an odd token in order from any other token. So that would that actually the sticking components normally is over collateralized, meaning that you have to deposit more token first, in order to in order means or farm, relatively smaller size of token. So the risk compared to other risk compare if the other the other? The other mechanism dies? The other distribution mechanism? I think that would be a lot a bit a bit more healthier to token holder. And I think that define innovation would last for really a long time. I think. I think I agree. The the either inflation rate or youth right now is insane is not sustainable. But the way that how we understand defy the way that people are interesting participant divide a project that allowed it or that we would be perfectly to participant divide would be becoming a really, really hot trend for for upcoming years.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
I think the future is going to be very interesting in this space. I you know, I’ve haven’t been shy. I’ve been saying that this, in many respects is Ico 2.0. And, and I just hope that the fallout that comes out of this is good innovation. But it’s gonna crash back down. Right? I think you said it too. It’s not sustainable. What we’re seeing out there, but what I’m hoping is that there’s new innovation in the technology is and I’m hoping that’s what comes out of this. But I’m afraid we’re probably gonna get a lot more regulatory scrutiny from this, as well. So it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Yeah, you’re you were there. You cannot deny that every new maybe new technology or new money or new new way of thinking has to be crazy from chaos. So So these kind of define chaos, this might not be sustainable. The river market corruption. Now were they there Painful correction to their way might be a rousing, regulatories good knee, as you mentioned, but eventually these kind of token distribution method would be an interesting insight for the upcoming define development. So people will actually think about, hey, that’s going to work. But if we want to do it sustainably, I think we have to change it to certain matter. And that will become a healthy growth order for the industry.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
Totally agree with that? Um, so where do you see crypto changing in the next couple of years? What What do you think will be the next big innovations coming out and say the next three to five years?
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Wow, that’s Sir, I would. I would, personally Personally, I would the very exciting dad’s similar model as in Filecoin, that people can actually share data on chain and tray, that data on chain with the development of fire codes so far gone, it just might be a spark of the entire fire. So, so similar project lifelike on even what your tablet data privacy, your personal data that can be exchangeable, or, or your physical might be stuck with storage, you can just tray, or buy, or sell your own personal storage within every kind of computer that can be traded or transact, via on trading. But these economic and trading mechanism would be an interesting insight or interesting. Hence, for the other data driven industry. So people can sell everything if they carry a data. So fire icon might be the success of the fire gone, hopefully, would become a very interesting development for crypto for the next three and a half, three and five years because right now, if I can sell my idle storage, either virtual drive online, like like a cloud based server, but but so that I can basically sell everything I can using the exact similar mechanism, or similar blockchain or similar token omics to say everything that have data currently available. That’s might be the beauty the very first through adoption for blockchain technologies.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
I think that’s very interesting. And, and I think there’s gonna be a lot of interesting use cases. For instance, I really have a library, you know, library credits, I like bat is doing the brave browser, where you actually are developing ecosystems that are using the crypto. And I think that’s important. And even with our TUSC project, that’s what our focus was, is is, you know, getting people to use the coin, not just speculative hype. And and I think that will be the future. And I think the big or most, I think some of the the products that are most likely to be mass adopted in the future are going to be ones that you don’t even think about right now. They’re they’re going to be ones that just slowly start building up an ecosystem where people are using their coin for a practical purpose. And to me, I think that’s really important. So I guess that one last question for you kind of wind down? Do you think there’s too many assets? Do you think that there’ll be more assets in the future, like more blockchains more coins? More tokens? Or do you see that that over time, that’s going to consolidate down?
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Um, I would say, bro, for To be frank. So I think the the barrier of cause of issuing or maintaining or creating tokens for hype or speculations, whoo, still be there is this part of the crypto ecosystem, but but when you when you get speculate more people will lose money. And people getting smarter and smarter, when it gets smarter. And when they get the a lot, a bit more cons cautious, a lot a bit more conservative, they were looking to they would be tend to be looking for the true nature, the true adoption of certain tokens. So that money will be will be really concentrating back into 1% of top 1% of the token to actually bring the value of the world that we’re starting to look at fundamental. So I think I would say New token was still there. There were a lot more, getting a lot more sizes. But but growing, so going from yours, right took about one two years or more. I think the capital, or the capital that all catered to crypto access will be mostly or heavily concentrated to a real project eventually.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
Yeah, I think so as well. I think what I’ve said I’ve said this in my circle of friends is that the first kryptos does start getting a real adoption even, you know, Nish adoption, not even mass adoption, but just niche adoption are gonna eventually change the way the speculative part of the market values those projects
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Right , correct.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
How I see it is you have billion dollar market cap projects that don’t have any customers.
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Correct. You’re right. You’re actually you absolutely right. I think people right now is like looking for answer right. If you can save a spark to fire and you provide true answer. You got all the you got everything. You get all everything that’s pay people for speculate money. We’re just crunching and advice to your own projects.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
Exactly. Linux Ly, where can people get ahold of you? Sorry, how can people find out how can people reach you?
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
So I think you can basically reach out now traitors and my email is Linux at okay yes.com You can find my traitors that us as well. So you can reach out anytime. I’m happy to answer all the questions.
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
Thanks. Thank you so much for coming on the show today. I really appreciate your time and I’ve learned a lot.
Lennix Lai – OKEx.com
Thank you, Rob appreciate, talk to you again. Thank you. Thanks so much,
Rob McNealy – RobMcNealy.com
You have a great day.
Episode Links
Lennix Lai – OKEx Exchange
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