Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced today that it will launch a centralized crypto trading platform and its OKX wallet in the U.S. market. With the expansion, OKX established its regional headquarters in San Jose, California, and named Roshan Robert, who previously worked at Morgan Stanley and Barclays, as its U.S. CEO.
“U.S. customers now have access to our high-performance platform, and we will be rolling out new features throughout the year as part of our vision to build a crypto Super App,” Robert said in a statement. The release said users of OKCoin, a U.S.-based crypto exchange affiliated with OKX, will be migrated to the OKX platform. The exchange plans to gradually introduce its services to new U.S. customers through a phased rollout, with a nationwide launch planned for later in 2025.
OKX’s expansion in the U.S. comes amid positive momentum in the country’s crypto industry, fueled by President Donald Trump’s push for pro-crypto policies and regulations. The company’s U.S. expansion follows a $500 million settlement with the Department of Justice, under claims of servicing domestic customers without a proper license.
In February, the DOJ announced that it has reached a settlement with OKX operator Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd. The exchange, however, referred to Aux Cayes as “one of many” OKX affiliates. The Justice Department’s investigation involved Aux Cayes failing to obtain the proper license to operate a money transmitting business for U.S. customers, OKX said at the time.
Despite having placed a policy preventing U.S. citizens from joining the platform, the DOJ claimed that OKX pursued U.S. customers, with one employee allegedly instructing them to provide false information to bypass restrictions. The company agreed to pay over $500 million, including $84 million in penalties and approximately $421 million in forfeited fees earned from U.S. customers. OKX said that the U.S. customers involved are no longer on the platform and that there were no allegations of customer harm.
