Our Investment in CAEX Exchange in Vietnam
By OKX Founder and CEO Star Xu
Today, we’re proud to announce our strategic investment in Vietnam Prosperity Crypto Asset Exchange Joint Stock Company (CAEX). We are joining CAEX as strategic partners alongside founding Vietnamese shareholders VPBankS and LynkiD, with HashKey Capital also investing.
We will contribute capital in April alongside other shareholders to help CAEX meet the minimum VND 10 trillion (approximately USD 380 million) requirement to participate in Vietnam’s government pilot program for regulated crypto asset trading.
CAEX now combines strong local expertise with global capabilities. Together with the existing partners, we aim to support its development across infrastructure, compliance, security, risk management, and liquidity, helping it scale responsibly within Vietnam’s evolving regulatory framework.
This approach reflects how we think about building at OKX. Over the past several years, we've made regulatory engagement a core part of our global strategy. We’ve secured and pursued licenses across major jurisdictions, from registration as a Money Services Business in the United States to operating licensed entities in Europe, where frameworks like MiCA are enabling compliant, cross-border crypto services.
In 2026, we further strengthened this foundation by obtaining a Payment Institution license in Malta, allowing us to deliver regulated crypto payment services across the European Union under MiCA and PSD2 frameworks.
Across markets like Singapore and Dubai, we’ve also worked closely with regulators to secure approvals and build localized, compliant platforms, and reinforcing a consistent approach: long-term growth comes from aligning with regulatory clarity, not avoiding it.
Just as importantly, our compliance journey has been iterative. We’ve invested heavily in AML, KYC, and risk systems, strengthened internal controls, and adapted to evolving regulatory expectations—because building trust at scale requires institutional-grade infrastructure.
That experience has shaped how we think about growth. We’re not just deploying capital, we’re bringing the lessons we’ve learned in compliance, risk management, and consumer protection to help build stronger local ecosystems.
Zooming out, this investment reflects a broader shift already underway across the industry. As regulatory clarity increases, liquidity is moving toward compliant venues. In fact, licensed trading activity on platforms like OKX has already seen exponential growth as users prioritize transparency and protection.
As we look ahead to 2030, we expect most Southeast Asian markets to establish clear regulatory frameworks and licensing pathways for digital asset companies. This region is already one of the most important sources of global crypto liquidity. The next phase is about bringing that activity into trusted, regulated environments.
We believe the future of crypto will be built on regulated, local platforms that users can trust and CAEX represents that future in Vietnam.
As Southeast Asia’s digital asset ecosystem evolves, OKX Ventures remains focused on backing the infrastructure that will define it—platforms that are not only innovative, but compliant, resilient, and built to serve millions.
