Share this article
OKCoin CEO Hints at China Cooperation In Leaked Chat
Star Xu, the founder of Chinese crypto exchange OKCoin, is sparking controversy with remarks his firm may be open to working with the government.
By Wolfie Zhao
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 7:40 a.m. Published Mar 9, 2018, 1:00 p.m.
The founder of one of the largest cryptocurrency businesses in China appears willing to work more closely with the government.
In comments that first emerged in an all-staff messaging group on WeChat, Star Xu, the founder of exchange services provider OKCoin, discussed a press conference Friday in which the governor of People's Bank of China (PBoC) addressed various financial issues including cryptocurrency.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
A screen capture of the group chat further shows that Xu told the staff he had also briefed the country's central bank on OKCoin's overseas expansion plan, its research on blockchain development and notably, a commitment that the firm is "prepared to donate it to the country anytime in the future."
The lack of clarity inherent in the remark has since drawn speculation on Chinese-language social media, with at least one domestic media outlet also taking note of the claim.
In a response to a CoinDesk inquiry, a spokesperson from OKEx, the crypto-to-crypto trading platform under OKCoin, confirmed the authenticity of group chat, acknowledging Xu did share the messages with internal staff.
However, the firm did not further clarify what exactly is to be donated – whether it's the group's crypto exchange business or the blockchain research results, or elaborate on why Xu would make such a claim.
Yet, the comment is notable given recently reported measures taken by Chinese authorities to clamp down on domestic cryptocurrency companies. Currently, the WeChat social media channel of OKEx, the crypto-to-crypto trading platform under OKCoin, is being blocked, and a previous report indicated that this was due to tightened government oversight.
As reported by CoinDesk, following PBoC's ban on initial coin offering and fiat-to-crypto trading in September last year, OKCoin has since moved its platform overseas to continue offering trading services to investors.
Star Xu image via CoinDesk's archive.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Bitcoin Stumbles Back Below $90K as Dollar Sinks to 7-Week Low After Fed Rate Cut
The dollar, along with precious metals and bond yields, is reacting as expected to easier financial conditions, but crypto remains in a bearish trend.
What to know:
- The U.S. dollar index (DXY) has fallen to a seven week low following the Fed's rate cut on Wednesday.
- Precious metals are soaring and bond yields are falling.
- Bitcoin remains stuck in a downtrend, falling back below $90,000 after the briefest of rallies.
Top Stories
