Crypto Exchange OKX Plans to Go Public in the US: Report

Crypto exchange OKX is reportedly exploring an initial public offering in the U.S., months after establishing a U.S. arm and agreeing to settle half a billion dollars with the Department of Justice over alleged money transmission violations.

The exchange would “absolutely consider an IPO in the future,” and if it does go public, it would “likely be in the U.S.,” Haider Rafique, chief marketing officer at OKX, said in an interview, according to a report from The Information.

A representative for OKX declined Decrypt’s request to comment further.

Although no official timeline or filing has yet been made public, OKX’s IPO considerations highlight its ambition to solidify a stronger foothold in the lucrative U.S. market.

Its plans of a U.S. IPO follow its expansion in the U.S. in April, when it established a regional headquarters in San Jose, California.

The move was a bid to broaden access to digital assets “in a secure, transparent, and compliant way,” Roshan Robert, its newly appointed U.S. CEO at the time, said in a statement.

OKX’s potential move toward the public markets aligns with a broader resurgence in crypto companies pursuing IPOs, likely influenced by Circle’s public debut on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this month, raising approximately $1.1 billion, with its share price surging nearly fourfold thereafter.

This successful market entry has set an optimistic precedent for other crypto firms considering similar public listings, with several prominent crypto firms already in various stages of IPO preparations, including Gemini, co-founded by the Winklevoss twins; Bullish, backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel; and FalconX, among others.

Earlier in February, OKX agreed to settle over $500 million worth of penalties to the DOJ, pleading guilty to serving U.S. customers without a money transmitter license. At the time, the exchange said it continues to “prioritize innovation with compliance.”

A month later, the global platform’s decentralized exchange aggregator faced issues, prompting OKX to pause some services to address security concerns.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair