OKX seeks Australian expansion citing ‘huge appetite’ for crypto

March 30, 2023 Coin Telegraph

AUSTRAC

The exchange's chief marketing officer believes Australians are above-the-curve when it comes to crypto education and interest.

Seychelles-based crypto exchange OKX has signaled its intention to expand its crypto services to Australia, a country it believes is primed to take on the next wave of crypto adoption.

The trading platform explained in a March 29 statement that Australia would be a key growth market for the firm moving forward. The firm states it provides services to over 100 countries. In July 2022, it secured a provisional license in Dubai.

"We see Australia as an indispensable part of this strategy and a key growth market. With such a strong uptake of crypto in Australia already, we're committed to the local market and aim to build a strong local office,” the firm wrote in a statement.

BIG NEWS

Super excited to announce that OKX will be opening an office in Australia!

We had an awesome time celebrating in Melbourne with OKX partners @danielricciardo, @scottyjames31, and McLaren F1 driver @oscarpiastri.

Find out more https://t.co/Sg3rGvSjhD pic.twitter.com/FpmSOhLvXt
— OKX (@okx) March 29, 2023

Haider Rafique, the chief marketing officer of OKX told Cointelegraph that the decision to expand "Down Under" was driven by a “huge appetite” of Australians for more crypto investment and trading products:

“What I’ve interestingly found over the last 5-6 years is that Australian retail investors certainly show a huge appetite for exploring crypto as an investment vehicle and also for trading. When I came to OKX, I certainly saw that in terms of web traffic and people from Australia trying to explore OKX services.”

Rafique believes Australians are above-the-curve in terms of crypto education, which he hopes will make OKX’s move into the market all the more smooth.

“They’re pretty familiar with crypto, the value of blockchain, the promise that it holds in the future, and I think from us as a company, it makes it really intriguing for us to extend our services in this market,” he said, adding:

“I think the value creation we can do for Australians will ultimately lift all boats.”

*OKX Ambassadors Daniel Ricciardo and Scotty James with OKX CMO Haider Rafique at the Q&A session held in Melbourne on March 30. Source:* *OKX*

A September 2022 survey from Australian crypto exchange Swyftx found that about 1 million Aussies are expected to enter into crypto for the first time within the next 12 months, which represents about 4% of the country’s population.

Rafique said he was also impressed with Australia’s crypto startup scene.

Celebrations in Melbourne are in full swing as #OKX announced opening our office in Australia!

Big s/o to OKX partners @danielricciardo, @scottyjames31, @oscarpiastri, our team & frens for joining the fun pic.twitter.com/m9rvVOmwYq
— OKX (@okx) March 29, 2023

It is understood that the trading firm has not yet registered with AUSTRAC, the licensing regime required to offer cryptocurrency services in Australia.

OKX was not in a position yet to share where the Australian office would potentially be located or how large the team would be. OKX currently employs over 1,750 staff, according to LinkedIn.

OKX is in the process of applying for a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in Hong Kong too, Rafique confirmed.

The expansion plan into Australia and Hong Kong comes as OKX recently announced plans to cease its services to Canadians in June.

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The future of work: Companies open offices in the metaverse

March 9, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Business

From online meetings to product demonstrations, companies have been using the metaverse to bring their businesses to the digital world.

There’s been a sharp decline in interest for the “metaverse” keyword in Google search. However, while the hype may be waning, it seems that companies are still very keen on dipping their toes into the virtual world.

In March alone, companies have either launched or revealed plans to build metaverse offices that would be used for online meetings with international clients, internal innovation hubs and enhancing social communication with users.

While we may be witnessing its earlier versions, metaverse offices seem like a sneak peek into the future of work. With this, let’s take a look at some companies that have recently entered the metaverse.

Events firm Atom sets up a metaverse office

Atom, an events firm based in Mumbai, has recently set up its metaverse office. The firm purchased digital space in Decentraland, and it’s planning to use the virtual office as a new way to reach out to its international clients. The company also plans to use it for future metaverse events.

Yash Kulshreshtha, the creative head for Atom, said in an interview that the move aims to expand the company’s global operations and cater to younger generations. “The young generation growing up today will find it completely natural,” said Kulshreshtha.

KuCoin exchange launched KuCoin Meta Office

Digital asset exchange KuCoin has launched an office based on the Bloktopia Digital Space. In a press release, the trading platform revealed its KuCoin Meta Office. The office aims to provide an immersive metaverse experience to its visitors as well as access to interactive social communication.

KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu said that this milestone helps bring adoption to the metaverse and blockchain. “KuCoin is exploring the application scenarios of metaverse and blockchain technology,” said Lyu.

Bjarke Ingels designs first virtual office

Prominent architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group worked with Vice Media’s creative agency Virtue Futures to design a new metaverse office located in Decentraland. Dubbed as the “Viceverse office,” the digital space will be a hub for Vice Media Group employees.

In an interview, Virtue Futures executive Morten Grubak described the office as an “experimental playground.” According to Grubak, the office allows its teams to experiment with nonfungible tokens, decentralized autonomous organizations and Web3.

SCB 10x reveals plans to launch The Sandbox-based office

SCB 10x, the venture arm of Siam Commercial Bank, has revealed plans to launch a virtual office based in The Sandbox. According to the announcement, the office will be launched later in 2022 and will be used for connecting with the global community of builders.

Apart from connecting with the community, the digital office will allow visitors to attend events, join product demonstrations and visit uniquely crafted environments.

Office