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What is OKB (OKB)?

OKB is the native utility token for the OKEx ecosystem. It initially ran on the Ethereum blockchain and is based on the ERC-20 token standard. OKEx is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange (CEX). Although the company rebranded in January 2022 to OKX, it’s referred to as OKEx here for clarity’s sake.

OKEx is a decentralized platform (DeFi) platform. While it primarily functions as a CEX, it also offers other crypto services, including GameFi and dApps support, oracles, and cloud mining, via the OKC project. You can see the all-time market performance of the OKB price in the chart above.

Who Created OKB?

OKEx and its native OKB token are a project that was co-founded by Jay Hao and Mingxing “Star” Xu. Hao is the CEO at OKEx. He has years of experience in the tech field and is particularly interested in blockchain-based media, entertainment, and metaverse technology. Star Xu is the founder of another cryptocurrency exchange, Okcoin.

OKEx was officially launched in 2017, following the success of Okcoin. Both platforms are owned by Ok Group. OKEx offers spot, derivatives, and margin trading for crypto assets, while on Okcoin, users can exchange both crypto and fiat currencies.

The value of the asset has been volatile since its launch. It experienced frequent fluctuations throughout 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, with a significant OKB price peak in May 2021. The token’s value has generally followed market trends.

Over the years, OKEx has become one of the most popular centralized cryptocurrency exchanges based on trading volume, at certain points ranking among the top three. While it started on the Ethereum chain, it has since migrated to its native OKExChain.

However, OKEx has also experienced some controversies. In 2018, the platform was accused of falsifying its trading volume data. In October 2020, Xu was allegedly arrested on charges of digital fraud, leading to the platform temporarily suspending withdrawals. Such events had a direct impact on the OKB price going down.

What Are the Features of OKB?

The current total supply of OKB coins is 300 million, while the hard cap is 1 billion. With a limited number of tokens in circulation, it’s considered to be a deflationary asset. This means that the OKB price is likely to increase in the future as the tokens become more scarce. To further ensure deflation, a portion of the tokens is regularly burned.

OKB is used as the main utility asset on the OKEx ecosystem. Users require OKB crypto to pay the trading fees. However, as token holders, they are eligible for special benefits and rewards. Transactions come with a discount that can go up to 40%, depending on the exact number of OKB tokens that the user is holding.

Furthermore, the platform offers the OKEx Earn program. Here, users can invest their assets to earn passive income. This allows the token holders to gain more value and may positively impact the OKB price.

Token holders within the OKEx ecosystem can be assigned one of the two roles – regular, which is based on the asset stock, and VIP, which is determined by the individual trading volume. The assigned role determines what benefits the users receive.

OKB tokens can also be used for voting. Although the platform does not follow the typical decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) model, users are able to vote on token listings. All tokens are returned to the wallets once the voting is complete.

Alongside the centralized exchange, the OKEx platform also hosts OKC, a smart contracts platform that focuses on Web3 applications. Users can mint NFTs, develop dApps and decentralized games, and employ oracles.

Although OKB currently serves as the platform’s utility token, according to the company, the OKT token will overtake this role in the future, while the legacy asset will be used as the bridge between the ecosystem and the users. It’s possible that the token change may affect both the OKT and the OKB price.