Key takeaways:
- The exchange said that Australia would be an important market for the company’s development in the future.
- According to the exchange, Australians are ahead of the curve regarding knowledge and interest in cryptocurrencies.
The Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange OKX has made it known that it plans to offer more of its services in Australia, which it sees as being well-positioned to lead the next surge of cryptocurrency adoption.
In a statement on March 29, the trading platform said that Australia would be a crucial market for the company’s development in the future. According to the company, it serves more than 100 nations. OKX obtained a provisional license in Dubai in July of last year, and in August of that year, it expanded its activities into Malta. The business said in a release:
“We see Australia as an indispensable part of this strategy and a key growth market. With such a strong uptake of crypto in Australia already, we’re committed to the local market and aim to build a strong local office,”
According to Haider Rafique, the chief marketing officer of OKX, the choice to grow “Down Under” was motivated by the massive demand for additional cryptocurrency trading and investment products in Australia:
“What I’ve interestingly found over the last 5-6 years is that Australian retail investors certainly show a huge appetite for exploring crypto as an investment vehicle and also for trading.”
Rafique thinks that Australians are more educated about cryptocurrencies than most other countries, which will hopefully help OKX’s entry into the market go more smoothly.
According to a Swyftx survey conducted in September, roughly 1 million Australians, or 4% of the population, anticipate investing in cryptocurrencies for the first time in the next 12 months. Rafique claimed to have been equally astounded by the Australian cryptocurrency startup environment.
According to what is known, the trading company is still in the process of registering with AUSTRAC, the licensing body needed to provide bitcoin services in Australia.
The location of the possible Australian office and the size of the team have not yet been disclosed by OKX. However, a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license proposal is also being made by OKX in Hong Kong. The plan to expand into Australia and Hong Kong was announced at the same time that OKX recently declared it would stop serving Canadians in June.