Okcoin emphasises importance of crypto research; sees opportunities for inclusivity

CRYPTO exchange Okcoin believes customers should do their research to understand the underlying technologies of cryptocurrencies, as it seeks to enable adoption of digital assets in a “responsible and meaningful way”.

“It’s important to understand the ecosystem and these new technologies, especially if you’re channelling your hard-earned money into them,” said Jason Lau, chief operating officer of Okcoin.

He added that consumers need to look for trusted sources, which can include podcasts, social media or longer-form articles.

Lau’s views come as the crypto industry is in the middle of a so-called crypto winter, in which prices and trading volumes of prominent cryptocurrencies have fallen significantly from their peaks.

Regulatory authorities have been paying closer attention to the sector, voicing concerns over speculative behaviour while emphasising the need for responsible growth. 

In a speech in August, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon said the regulator “strongly discourages and seeks to restrict” speculation in cryptocurrencies.

MAS nevertheless sees “strong potential” for the digital asset ecosystem as the “innovative combination” of tokenisation and distributed ledgers could offer “transformative economic potential”.

Lau said Okcoin has applied for a licence in Singapore, which is being processed, and seeks to “help the region adopt digital assets in a responsible and meaningful way”.

“It’s in Okcoin’s business interest to prioritise user protection and trust in our brand,” Lau said. “Our responsibilities to our customers and our business interests are inherently intertwined.”

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He said the exchange has a “thorough vetting process that is in place to ensure the digital assets we list are backed by strong development teams, sound technology and existing community”.

He believes the technology can bring about greater inclusivity, as crypto is a borderless payment technology.

“Crypto is inclusive by design – permissionless, decentralised currency not only defies geographic borders, it democratises the opportunity to build wealth regardless of geography, gender or any other factor,”  he said.

“Okcoin strives to help optimise this by maintaining regulatory compliance globally, in addition to making our user experience easy enough so that anyone – regardless of their technical skills – can enjoy the benefits of crypto.”

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