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Crypto exchange OKX cuts institutional staff amid global restructuring
The exchange has overhauled its institutional business as part of a broader restructuring, with approximately one-third of its sales team exiting, according to one source.
Updated Jan 9, 2026, 5:01 p.m. Published Jan 9, 2026, 4:45 p.m.
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What to know:
- OKX has restructured its global institutional business, resulting in job losses.
- The company stated that the changes are part of a shift toward a more traditional institutional coverage model, emphasizing that the moves do not amount to “mass layoffs.”
- The cuts come amid a wider reorganization as OKX looks to better leverage licences across jurisdictions.
Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has recently restructured its institutional business globally, resulting in the loss of jobs.
While the exact number of people to exit the business has not been not revealed, half of the team were fired, according to one person with knowledge of the matter. A second person said it was it was 8-10 layoffs, with 3 or 4 people exiting the business of their own volition when the restructure was announced.
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This resulted in about a third of the institutional salesforce leaving, the person added.
A company spokesperson stated that these were not "mass layoffs," without providing further guidance on the total number of people affected by the restructure.
“OKX recently completed a review of our institutional business as we continue to scale globally," the spokesperson said in emailed comments. "As part of that process, we are evolving toward a more traditional institutional coverage model, designed to deepen long-term relationships with clients and better support their needs across regions and market cycles."
The cuts are part of a broader restructuring as OKX retools its global retail and institutional operations, with the exchange reviewing how best to deploy its licences across markets and planning further organisational adjustments in the months ahead.
OKX operates through regulated entities in several major markets, including the EU under MiCA via Malta, select U.S. states, the UAE through Dubai’s VARA, Singapore, and Australia.
The Seychelles-based crypto exchange expanded to the U.S. last year and established a new regional headquarters in San Jose, California.
OKX Europe acquired a MiFID II-licensed firm in Malta last March, allowing it to offer derivatives in Europe.
The firm’s head of finance, Yana Vella, has also left the business, according to a post on LinkedIn today.
Read more: OKX SG Brings USDT and USDC Scan-to-Pay to Singapore’s Everyday Shopping
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