Cryptocurrency exchange OKEx has become one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the past few years.

The company’s continual growth is underlined by its growing trading volume and user base.

made available to source Recently had the opportunity to interview OKEx CEO Jay Howe to talk about the challenges that OKEx has to overcome, the current cryptocurrency market landscape, the growing adoption of Bitcoin, the craze around DeFi, and many other topics.

Going back to the roots: before creating OKEx

One of the first things Howe shared was his background and where he came from to become the CEO of one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, and how he faced the daunting task of achieving the planned goals.

Read:The world’s largest investment asset management company prepares to trade Bitcoin futures

Howe has spent more than 20 years in the semiconductor industry and there is zero tolerance for faulty product design there.

On OKEx, Howe continued with the same sternness as he was told:

We are very strict about ensuring that we provide the most reliable and secure trading services.

In my semiconductor experience, I have zero tolerance for faulty trading product features.

No matter how small a new feature is, we run multi-level QA tests on it before release.

Howe also spent years in the video streaming industry and owned his own companies before entering the crypto and blockchain space.

Howe believes that this experience taught him how to be a better manager and to understand the macro factors that affect management, as well as the daily internal challenges the company faces.

As for his entry and acquaintance with Bitcoin, he told “Haw”:

I found Bitcoin to be very interesting and enjoyed watching its development since the early days when 10,000 Bitcoins were used to pay for two pizzas.

Hence, joining OKEx was a logical progression as he had already developed high-tech products and was fascinated by the blockchain.

Read:Report: 60% of video game developers already use blockchain

The CEO of OKex also said that the industry has come a long way since then and that he loves the fast-paced environment and the constant innovation we see daily.

The current market situation and the impact of the Corona virus: a dangerous shift

Discussing the current state of the crypto market and the impact of the coronavirus, Howe said:

The impact of the Corona virus is clear, there is no doubt about it.

As we saw from the heavy selling in March of this year, no market was spared the impact, including gold.

The relationship between Bitcoin and the stock market appears to be weakening again as we saw uncharacteristic volatility in stocks while Bitcoin remained flat and closed in the $9-10K trading range.

He explained that the second wave of the Corona virus, expected in the fall, could cause more repercussions in the digital currency market in the short and medium term.

However, he outlined the unprecedented quantitative easing that we are seeing, saying that the overall context appears to be bullish for cryptocurrencies over the long term.

Read:Huobi and OKEx promise to compensate traders who lost money…

Howe touched on another hot topic, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), saying:

The pandemic has basically accelerated the trend that was inevitable anyway, more people will turn to cryptocurrency and there is a chance of high returns through decentralized finance.

Among what he told Howe:

Many people will lose money in DeFi

Howe explained:

The OKEx platform “has been watching the decentralized finance space with interest for a long time now and fully supports its development.

We show this in many different ways because we strongly believe that DeFi has the potential to achieve a global financial goal, providing billions of unbanked people with access to financial services.

He also indicated:

Given that OKEx has become one of the first validators on the “ETH 2.0 Topaz” test network with “OKPool” it can be at the forefront of this major development in the space.

The trading platform also allows users to generate passive income through a C2C loan where they can use Bitcoin, Ethereum and OKB to obtain collateral with the lowest borrowing rates in the arena, and we are developing OKChain which will be used to support the decentralized finance infrastructure.

As for the decentralized finance craze itself, Howe noted that as with every alternate crypto season, many people will lose money, while others will win.

However, he did point out some benefits to both Bitcoin and Ethereum and explained:

If the decentralized finance bubble temporarily bursts, it will indeed be good for Bitcoin and Ethereum, as they will see significant capital inflows, and if this madness fades, it will only be short-lived because the potential and promises of decentralized finance simply cannot be ignored.

Bitcoin to New Levels in 1 – 1.5 Years:

When asked how he envisions crypto space five years from now, Howe said:

The ecosystem will grow exponentially, and more and more innovative products and solutions will be in place that allow ordinary people to use the blockchain without even realizing it.

He added:

The UI aspect of the technology will be especially improved.

However, he believes that Finance will be the “biggest protagonist” by then, telling in this regard:

I don’t know if all the unbanked people in the world will be served by blockchain and DeFi in the next five years, but we will certainly be closer to achieving that goal.

Protocols like Polkadot and others like it will allow for seamless interoperability of blockchain networks, while Ethereum, OKChain, and other decentralized public blockchains will grow exponentially, making it easier for developers to build large-scale decentralized applications.

Of course, Howe touched on Bitcoin and its evolution in terms of pricing.

His main narrative was that anything is possible, and he urged caution about bold and clear predictions.

“We can realistically see a short-term burst of the decentralized finance bubble,” said Howe.

He also mentioned that if the global economic situation worsens, we could see another event similar to the month of March that could cause problems for Bitcoin as well.

However, he sees that even if it does, it will only be temporary, and the price will quickly recover to its current values.

As for his long-term expectations, they are bullish, as he said about them:

It is not impossible to see Bitcoin price at least test its 2017 highs in the next 12-18 months.

Read also:

Report: Bitcoin Holds Rising, Miners Refuse to Sell

The DOT digital currency has generated 2000% returns for investors since its launch