Seychelles-based OKX announced on Tuesday it is rebooting the US version of Crypto Exchange, revealing a new wallet that American users can store and trade cryptocurrency. The company also announced that it would nominate longtime Barclays employee Roshan Robert as US CEO and find a US regional headquarters in San Jose, California.
“It’s not just about the brand. Everything has changed in its entirety of the technology interface,” said Robert, who recently was an executive at Crypto Prime Broker Hidden Road.
OKX’s new focus follows the settlement reached by the international entities of the exchange that reached the Department of Justice in February. Prosecutors argued that OKX failed to implement a proper money laundering process, recruiting US clients despite the fact that international companies were not registered with the state. As part of the agreement, OKX paid a $500 million fine, committed a crime against one count operating an unauthorized remittance business, and agreed to pay an external compliance consultant until February 2027.
“For over seven years, OKX has deliberately violated anti-money laundering laws and avoided implementing the policies necessary to prevent criminals from abuse our financial system,” said Matthew Podolski, a US lawyer for the Southern District, in a statement announcing the settlement.
“There were no claims of customer harm, no charges against company employees, nor monitors with government appointed as part of the settlement,” OKX said in a blog post.
The exchange renewal is also in a more advantageous regulatory environment for crypto under President Donald Trump. US CEO Robert said OKX’s plan to increase US presence was ahead of the previous period of Trump’s second term. He began talking to Crypto Exchange in the summer of 2024 and was officially brought in September. “We were preparing a compliance infrastructure, a risk management infrastructure that was around half the last year,” he added.
That said, Robert welcomes the Trump administration’s less aggressive approach to codes. “It takes time to create rules, but there are paths we can see,” he said.
As Robert pilots the newly renewed OKX, he faces a tough competition with incumbent Coinbase and Kraken. However, he believes that the US market is not worth zero, and that the younger generation’s appetite for dangerous crypto bets will grow pie. “It’s an universe where the entire digital asset market is expanding,” he said.