What is OKB?

OKB is the global utility token of the cryptocurrency exchange OKX (formerly known as OKEx). OKB aims to link potential digital asset projects to OKX users and professional investors, establishing an OKX ecosystem that fosters the development of blockchain technology and the digital asset sector.

A brief history of OKB

Mingxing ‘Star’ Xu founded Okcoin, a Chinese cryptocurrency exchange, in 2013. He then created a separate Malta-based exchange called OKEx in 2017. On 24 July 2017, OKEx completed an initial coin offering (ICO) that raised more than $100 million for the exchange. As a result, OKEx launched OKB, an ERC-20 token that is used for paying transaction fees on the exchange. Jay Hao joined OKEx as their CEO in November 2018.

Upon the launch of OKB, OKEx set the token’s total supply at 1 billion OKB, with a circulating supply of 300 million OKB. Since May 2019, the exchange has been conducting a quarterly token buyback-and-burn program to reduce the token’s circulating supply. The exchange says that the program boosts the value of OKB and encourages users to hold tokens. OKEx used 30% of the income from spot trading fees to buy back tokens.

In February 2020, OKEx launched the testnet for OKChain, the exchange’s proprietary blockchain. In September 2020, the exchange burned 700 million OKB tokens that were unissued since its ICO, bringing down the total supply to 300 million, minus the OKB tokens that were previously burned.

OKEx rolled out the mainnet of OKChain, which has since been renamed into OKC, between December 2020 and January 2021. In the process of this launch, OKB holders who staked their tokens via the OKX Jumpstart token launch feature of OKEx were issued a proportional amount of OKT tokens.

On 18 January 2022, OKEx rebranded into OKX. “We’ve dropped the ‘E’ from our name because we’re so much more than an exchange,” Hao said in a statement about the rebrand.

How OKB works

As one of the major crypto spot and derivatives trading exchanges, OKX offers crypto financial services to global traders, such as fiat-to-token, token-to-token, and derivatives trading. Its native token, OKB, has a number of use cases, from paying fees on the exchange to enabling owners to participate in the network’s governance.

OKX users can also get passive income if they hold OKB tokens on the exchange, specifically on OKX Profit, a feature that helps users earn on their assets. Besides this, the OKB token distributes money on the OKX Jumpstart platform. Participation on Jumpstart is allowed only after registration on the site — then purchases are conducted via MixTrust.

As the main asset of OKX, OKB is utilised on-chain to support spot trade, derivatives trading, and the simultaneous creation of numerous scalable apps. Additionally, a layered design minimises consensus times, enhances scalability, and strengthens security. To add value to OKB and make the digital currency more appealing to holders, OKX burns tokens every three months and reports the coin burn on its official website. The platform also uses 30% of the income from OKX spot trading fees to buy back OKB from the total supply of 300 million tokens.

What is OKB used for?

OKB is a worldwide utility token that enables OKX users to access several features of the crypto exchange. Specifically, OKB computes and pays trading fees, provides users access to voting and administration on the site, and rewards users for staking it. OKB token holders get a service fee discount, voting rights, and the ability to participate in projects on OKX Jumpstart, among other incentives.

The OKB token plays a crucial role in the OKX ecosystem. It enables users to enjoy up to a 40% discount on transactions (depending on the number of tokens a user owns or has). The exchange splits users into two status groups: normal and VIP. How much OKB stock a user owns determines a normal user’s level, while VIP users obtain a level according to their trading volume. The commissions are changed daily, and users receive a discount based on their respective levels.