NASSAU, BAHAMAS — OKX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has expressed its firm commitment to The Bahamas, with the company seeking to gradually expand its operations in the country while leveraging local talent.
Tim Byun, Chief Global Government Relations Officer at OKX in an interview with Eyewitness News on the sidelines of the D3 Bahamas Conference at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort for which it is a title sponsor, said: “The world has changed but we are still committed to The Bahamas and other jurisdictions that come out with a sound regulatory framework like the DRAE Act,” said Byun.
“We have launched and are active in The Bahamas. We hope to continue to grow and continue our demonstrate commitment. We can’t control what is happening in the ecosystem. We can only control what we do.”
His comments appeared to be a reference to the public undoing of Bahamas-based FTX, which blighted the cryptocurrency industry’s reputation globally.
Byun said that the company is taking a steady approach to building out its Bahamas operations.
“It’s not just about building the office; it has to come with business. I think we are making great progress on that. We’re not a short-sighted enterprise. We know it’s going to take time to grow our business. It’s going to take time and we want to do it right,” said Byun.
He noted that OKX’s team in The Bahamas is still fairly small. “It’s fair to say that we’re still small and kind of in the initial phase of launching the platform and the starter office. We would love to move into a bigger office but everything has to be aligned otherwise it would seem kind of odd. It has to continue to gradually be aligned for growth.”
He continued: “Another thing that we do and it’s not just in The Bahamas is we don’t ship expatriates. We try to look for local talent and grow it inherently. Given that model, it probably does take a bit longer but we think it’s more stable.”
OKX is a global cryptocurrency spot and derivatives exchange and the second biggest crypto exchange by trading volume, serving over 50 million people globally.
The crypto exchange which serves over 50 million people globally, registered as a Digital Asset Business in the Bahamas a year ago and formed its subsidiary, OKX Bahamas.
