By Nancy, PANews
ETFs, tokenization, stablecoins, DATs... the crypto world is integrating with traditional finance at an unprecedented pace. Doors to mainstream markets are opening, and the outlines of a new era of crypto finance are becoming increasingly clear. At the same time, with the improvement of infrastructure and the rapid development of the ecosystem, the on-chain world is attracting more liquidity, unleashing more potential and becoming a new battlefield for capital mining.
In this evolving market structure, the role of centralized exchanges (CEXs) is no longer limited to being a "crypto gateway." Their competitive advantage is evolving from a single trading experience to a more comprehensive service system. At the OKX Alphas Summit held in Singapore on September 30th, OKX announced a series of product upgrades, demonstrating the exchange's exploration of differentiated approaches and signaling that CeDeFi is becoming a mainstream trend.
It is worth noting that OKX CEO Star, as the opening guest, focused on sharing his latest views and strategic layout on crypto payment innovation and future financial applications at the summit. In particular, he clearly mentioned that payments are returning to the peer-to-peer model, stablecoins are expected to become the infrastructure of future payments, and OKX Pay is committed to becoming a liquidity center for stablecoins.
The evolution of the crypto cycle drives the evolution of CEX, moving towards an era of capital efficiency competition
As the global crypto market matures, exchanges' service models are quietly evolving. From simple liquidity matching to a current emphasis on capital efficiency, the focus of industry competition is shifting. OKX's recent product launches not only enhance user experience but also reflect the evolving nature of the crypto cycle.
In terms of asset appreciation efficiency, OKX's Auto Earn feature for trading accounts provides users with a new way to increase their capital. According to Thomas Tse, Head of Trading Products at OKX, Auto Earn allows users to automatically lend or stake idle assets in their trading accounts on-chain without affecting their ability to be used as collateral or trading margin, achieving the dual goals of asset trading and value creation. Furthermore, users can leverage existing trading strategies without locking up their assets, maintaining low risk and high flexibility. Idle assets automatically earn interest and maintain continuous liquidity. Currently supported assets include USDT, USDC, USDG, ETH, and SOL, and the annualized returns for different assets will adjust with market fluctuations.
Compared to traditional CEX investment products, Auto Earn significantly improves fund utilization efficiency. Previously, CEX investment features often required users to manually transfer funds, locking assets during the investment period and limiting liquidity, which could lead to idle funds or missed market opportunities. Meanwhile, DeFi has attracted a significant user base through methods like staking and liquidity mining, but the high barriers to entry and high risks have deterred many users. OKX's "trading as investment" concept cleverly bridges this gap, allowing CEX users to enjoy a DeFi-like yield farming experience on a familiar platform, with simpler operations and more manageable risks. This model not only optimizes the dynamic allocation of funds but also provides users with a new option that balances returns and liquidity.
For high-frequency and large-volume traders, OKX's VIP program directly addresses long-standing pain points such as high fees, idle funds, and slow customer service. According to Bill Chan, Head of VIP Product Development, the VIP program operates as a membership model, offering tiered benefits: higher trading volume, lower fees; higher user scale and demand, more exclusive services and opportunities. Upon joining the VIP program, users receive exclusive fee discounts, 24/7 priority customer service, and a variety of value-added tools, including BTC Hoarding Interest (earning up to 3% annualized returns on idle Bitcoin) and Dual Currency Win Enhanced Income. VIP users are also invited to participate in exclusive events, targeted rewards, and limited-edition merchandise, further enhancing user retention.
This product also reflects the evolving role of CEXs. Early CEXs primarily catered to retail investors, emphasizing low costs and fast execution. Now, with the gradual improvement of the global regulatory environment, crypto assets are gradually being accepted by mainstream financial markets. Institutional investors (such as hedge funds and family offices) are entering the market at an accelerated pace, driving the market towards greater maturity and professionalism. OKX's VIP service lowers the barrier to entry for institutional users. This is not only a business strategy, but also a proactive response to the increasing market maturity and regulatory evolution.
It's fair to say that the evolution of the crypto market is reshaping the positioning and functionality of CEXs. For OKX, the launch of the Auto Earn and VIP programs epitomizes its strategic upgrade, accelerating its transformation into a financial services hub.
Digging for on-chain finance: a strategic bet in the CeDeFi era
As the boundaries between CeFi and DeFi gradually blur, CeDeFi is becoming an ideal bridge for traditional financial institutions to enter the crypto world and is expected to drive the mass adoption of crypto assets. Driven by this trend, exchanges are no longer content to simply provide basic trading and custody services but are actively expanding the on-chain ecosystem. From the construction of seamless on-chain access to the layout of public chain ecosystems, these exchanges are proactively attacking the future of on-chain finance.
Take OKX, for example. Its ecosystem strategy clearly demonstrates the exchange's deep ambitions for on-chain finance. At the OKX Alphas Summit, Thomas first revealed that the OKX app will launch DEX trading functionality, allowing users to trade on-chain tokens directly using their exchange account balances (USDT, USDC, or the network's native tokens) without switching wallets or cross-chain operations. Self-custodial wallets can be created in seconds using Passkey and Face ID, significantly lowering the barrier to entry for traditional on-chain operations. Furthermore, this new DEX not only improves transaction execution speed and price efficiency but also integrates one-stop services such as token discovery, market intelligence, and portfolio management tracking. Initial support will include X Layer, Solana, Base, and BNB Chain, with plans to expand to more public chains such as Ethereum in the future.
In terms of the wallet ecosystem, OKX Wallet addresses the issues of single-chain support, fragmented operations, and security risks associated with traditional wallets through a unified entry point. According to Shawn Ma, Head of OKX's DEX Aggregator Product, OKX Wallet now supports over 140 blockchain networks. Users can complete token swaps, cross-chain bridging, and dApp access on a single platform, covering millions of tokens, and can operate anytime on mobile or the web. At the same time, it establishes a solid defense against the crypto world. TEE (Trusted Execution Environment)-powered smart accounts are designed for advanced on-chain transactions. Private keys are securely encapsulated in a hardware "black box," yet complex on-chain operations can be quickly executed. Functionality includes automated strategy execution, take-profit and stop-loss orders, direct investment (DCA), and on-chain copy trading.
Building its own public chain is a core component of the exchange's CeDeFi strategy. In August of this year, OKX announced a strategic upgrade to its public chain, X Layer, focusing on DeFi, payments, and RWA scenarios. According to X Layer Builder Felix Fan, the chain already supports 5,000 TPS and is expected to reach 100,000 TPS after future upgrades. Transaction costs will be almost negligible, and small payments will no longer be constrained by high gas fees. X Layer is fully EVM-compatible, inheriting Ethereum's security and developer ecosystem. It also deeply integrates with the OKX Wallet, enabling comprehensive management of deposits, returns, and trading tools. If performance is the ticket to entry, then X Layer's differentiation lies in its ecosystem. Its application scenarios include DeFi, yield-generating stablecoins, instant on-chain payments, high-frequency trading, cross-border transfers, and real-world settlements, aiming to become a hub for transactions, circulation, and wealth creation in the new financial era.
OKX has established a replicable model for CeDeFi through its on-chain deployment. This isn't just a defensive strategy, but a proactive bet—a bid to transform itself into a comprehensive gateway to the crypto ecosystem and open up new business and financial possibilities. Thus, CeDeFi is becoming a key variable in the competitive landscape of exchanges and a potential driver of widespread adoption of crypto finance.
From trading tools to financial infrastructure, stablecoin competition enters the 2.0 era
"The biggest achievements of the crypto industry in the past 12 to 13 years are, first, the globalization of Bitcoin, which has become one of the most successful digital assets in the world; second, stablecoins, whose total market capitalization is currently close to US$300 billion and is expected to grow further rapidly in the next one to two years," Star said at the press conference.
He further elaborated from a historical perspective, stating that throughout human history, payments have always been essentially peer-to-peer: from gold and silver coins to paper money, funds have been controlled by individuals. However, in the digital age, currency is held by financial institutions. If an institution goes bankrupt, individuals often rely on limited insurance coverage. The emergence of blockchain and stablecoins has made it possible for payments to return to a peer-to-peer, low-cost, and highly efficient model. Especially in cross-border payments, stablecoins have the potential to replace the current 1% to 3% credit card fees and become the infrastructure of future payments. Furthermore, with the development of multi-signature accounts, abstract accounts, and on-chain monitoring tools, stablecoin payments can ensure security and compliance while also improving efficiency, and are expected to rapidly enter the mainstream in the coming years.
In fact, stablecoins have evolved from simple trading tools into multifunctional financial assets, serving as both a liquidity pillar for crypto finance and a fundamental financial infrastructure in the real economy. The Stablecoin 2.0 solution launched by OKX at the Alphas Summit aims to transform stablecoins from static value-anchoring tools into dynamic financial assets and everyday currencies, driving crypto assets towards the global financial system.
Stablecoins have long served as a valuable anchor in crypto transactions, but issues like slow transfers, high failure rates, and expensive fees have limited their integration into the real economy. In other words, while stablecoins are the lifeblood of crypto finance, they struggle to become a universal currency in the real world.
A long-standing challenge for stablecoins is fragmented liquidity. Stablecoins from different issuers are often fragmented within their own markets, leading to inefficiencies. According to Frank Zhang, Head of Trading Products at OKX, the unified USD order book aggregates all compliant stablecoins into a single trading market, providing traders with the deepest liquidity, tightest bid-ask spreads, and a seamless trading experience, enabling cash-like transactions. This design not only provides traders with deeper liquidity and tighter bid-ask spreads, but also lowers the barrier to entry for new stablecoin issuers, enabling market scalability and unification.
If monetization and order book restructuring represent upgrades to stablecoins as financial assets, then payment applications bring them closer to the definition of currency. According to Sam Liu, Product Manager of OKX Pay, the OKX card allows users to spend stablecoins 1:1 at all Mastercard-accepting merchants worldwide, starting in Brazil with plans to expand globally within 12 months. Users can pay directly with stablecoins for coffee, shopping, or subscriptions. OKX Pay, the underlying platform, is a non-custodial on-chain wallet. Through the X Layer, users can seamlessly send stablecoins without copying addresses or paying extra gas fees. It supports group transfers, QR code payments, and will soon support mobile Tap to Pay. This user experience is designed to address the high fees and operational friction commonly associated with traditional crypto payments, making stablecoins truly viable for everyday payments.
This series of designs connects storage, investment, and consumption, signifying that stablecoins are no longer limited to exchange tools, but are gradually evolving into a complete financial closed loop encompassing both on-chain and off-chain assets. For OKX, this represents not only an expansion of the trading ecosystem but also a key component of its CeDeFi strategy. More importantly, the competitive landscape of stablecoins is shifting. Future competition will no longer be about "who has the largest issuance volume" but rather "who can be deployed in more real-world scenarios."
Overall, OKX's current business layout is clearly centered around a user-centric approach. From asset appreciation efficiency and on-chain ecosystem experiences to stablecoin application scenarios, it provides users with a more efficient, convenient, and secure financial experience. This reflects the evolution of the competitive landscape in the second half of the CEX market, from a single-point trading experience to a comprehensive battle for digital financial services. This represents not only a strategic evolution for CEXs themselves, but also an inevitable trend for the entire crypto-finance ecosystem towards mainstream adoption and maturity.
