Alysa Xu is a digital asset strategist and finance professional who serves as Chief Strategy Officer at OKX, a global crypto exchange and Web3 platform. Her role has been described as leading the formulation, implementation, and oversight of OKX’s business development and public relations strategy, work that sits at the intersection of market expansion, partnerships, and external communications in a fast-moving regulatory environment.
Overview
Xu’s background combines corporate finance, capital markets activity, and applied blockchain research. Before joining OKX, she held senior roles in research and investment, including work focused on compliance and fintech innovation. At OKX, she is part of a leadership group responsible for shaping how the company positions its centralized exchange services, its native ecosystem token OKB, and its broader Web3 product direction as the industry shifts toward on-chain applications and more formal compliance expectations.
Role at OKX
OKX operates as a multi-product crypto venue, offering spot and derivatives trading, margin functionality, and services that connect crypto markets with fiat rails. As Chief Strategy Officer, Xu’s remit is tied to how these offerings are packaged for users, how the brand communicates product and policy changes, and how partnerships and market access are prioritized over time. The firm’s directory profile describes OKX as an exchange launched in 2017, with services that span fiat trading, token and margin trading, futures trading, and index-style products.
OKX’s strategy has also expanded beyond exchange operations into Web3 infrastructure. In 2024, OKX launched its Ethereum layer-2 network, X Layer, an initiative reported as using OKB for gas payments and positioning the company to bring more activity on-chain through developer adoption and user onboarding. This move illustrates how exchange brands increasingly pair centralized liquidity with on-chain networks and wallets, a dynamic that influences corporate communications, ecosystem partnerships, and market narrative.
Career and Background
Prior to OKX, Xu led blockchain research in traditional finance. From 2016 to 2019, she served as research head at the Tianfeng Securities Blockchain Research Center, where her work focused on blockchain research related to fintech innovation and compliance topics in the equities market and insurance sector. This period aligned with growing interest from financial institutions in distributed ledger technology, including experiments in post-trade processing, digital identity, and auditability.
From 2013 to 2016, Xu worked as Assistant General Manager in the Private Equity Investment Division at Zhongrong International Trust Company Limited. Her responsibilities included managing private placement projects, privatization transactions, and National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) fund activity. Earlier, between 2010 and 2013, she worked at China Fortune Land Development Co. Ltd., where her focus included the company’s reverse listing process on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE). Across these roles, her experience reflects a blend of deal execution, market structure awareness, and strategy planning.
Industry Engagement and Advisory Roles
Beyond corporate roles, Xu has been listed as holding several positions connected to China’s blockchain policy and industry ecosystem. She is described as Director of the China Blockchain Applications Research Center, an Expert Committee Member of the Sub-committee for Blockchain Technology of the Chinese Institute of Electronics, and Deputy Secretary-General of the Sub-committee for Blockchain Technology of the China Group Companies Association (CGCA). Such affiliations can support coordination between industry, research, and policy discussions, particularly around standards, compliance considerations, and practical deployment.
Relevance to the Crypto Market
Xu’s work is relevant to a broader trend in crypto where exchanges increasingly function as consumer gateways, institutional venues, and Web3 distribution channels at the same time. Strategic leadership roles influence how exchanges approach new regions, product disclosures, and risk messaging, as well as how they communicate around regulatory developments. OKX’s recent U.S. relaunch, following legal and compliance-related scrutiny, illustrates the importance of aligning public positioning with operational controls, including know-your-customer processes and fraud monitoring, as exchanges attempt to re-enter or expand in major jurisdictions.
Risks and Considerations
Executive strategy and communications in crypto exchanges face recurring constraints. Market volatility can create user-risk events, including liquidation cascades and liquidity shocks, particularly in derivatives-heavy environments. Regulatory expectations can change quickly, affecting product availability, regional access, and disclosures. Exchanges also operate under ongoing security and operational risk, including custody controls, incident response, and third-party dependencies. For senior strategy leaders, maintaining clarity on product scope and risk messaging is critical, especially as exchange brands broaden into wallets, on-chain networks, and token-linked ecosystems.
