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Mingxing Xu (Star Xu)
Mingxing Xu, also known as “Star” Xu, is a Chinese entrepreneur who founded OKCoin in June 2013 and founded OKEx,which launched in 2017. OKEx is a cryptocurrency exchange that offers spot and derivatives trading.[16]
Education & Early Life
Star Xu graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Applied Physics from the University of Science and Technology Beijing in the year 2006.[3]
Career
Star founded OKCoin in June 2013, and it became one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges by user base and transaction volume.[17] Xu worked at Yahoo and Alibaba on search algorithms and served as CTO of DocIn.com.[17] He was listed as a speaker at TechCrunch China in Beijing, scheduled for August 11–12, 2014.[18]
In 2017, Xu founded OKEx, a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange , and derivatives exchange that offers basic trading including spot and simple options, and derivatives including margin, futures, perpetual swaps, and options. Xu has publicly identified as OKX’s founder and CEO.[9]
On April 16, 2025, Xu announced that OKX Exchange and Wallet had launched in the United States, that the company’s U.S. headquarters was in San Jose, California, and that Roshan Robert had been appointed U.S. CEO.[10]
In a speech on January 24, 2026, Xu described OKX’s priorities as providing regulated trading services, bringing more assets onchain through X Layer and Web3 Wallet, and developing OKX Pay.[11] On April 29, 2026, OKX published the Agent Payments Protocol (APP), an open, cross-chain standard for AI-agent commerce that enables agents to communicate and negotiate, as well as make payments and settle transactions. Escrow and dispute resolution were described as forthcoming.[12]
Controversy
On October 16, 2020, OKX suspended cryptocurrency withdrawals because an unavailable private-key holder cooperating with a public-security investigation could not authorize them. CoinDesk relayed media reports identifying the holder as Mingxing “Star” Xu and alleging that he had been taken by police.[19] In a November 6, 2020 update, OKX said the person was cooperating with a public-security bureau investigation and refuted claims that a person connected with OKX was under criminal detention.[20]
After being unreachable for more than 30 days, Xu made a media appearance on WeChat on November 19, 2020. He said he had assisted authorities investigating OK Group’s “backdoor listing in 2017,” in which the exchange had sought to partner with an “undisclosed third-party entity” to make its offerings available to clients all over the world. Xu said investigators clarified the matter after reviewing his prior business dealings.[6]
On February 24, 2025, Aux Cayes Fintech Co. Ltd., which operated OKX/OKEx, pleaded guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The U.S. Department of Justice said the relevant conduct occurred from 2018 through at least early 2024 and that the company agreed to penalties totaling more than $504 million: $420.3 million in forfeiture and an approximately $84.4 million fine. The plea was by the company, an OKX affiliate, and was not a personal guilty plea by Xu.[13]
Public Statements
Market Outlook
Star Xu in a tweet, expressed hope that 2023 would be more optimistic than 2022.
"Luna, 3AC, Ftx, Genesis…A lot of accidents make crypto guys feel frustrated. But look back to the history of crypto, it’s a technology driven industry, Pow, ETH, SegWit ,Defi, ZK drive the whole market cap grow to trillion size. I’m optimistic to the 2023."[4]
In his tweet, “Star” Xu mentioned several key events that upset the space and put selling pressure on the crypto market — the bankruptcy of the Three Arrows Capital fund (3AC), the FTX exchange and SBF, the crash of the LUNA token, the problems with liquidity faced by Genesis and so on.[5]
Thoughts on Compliance
In July 2023, Star Xu emphasized the importance of compliance controls in the crypto industry through tweets, citing Multichain as a risk example and questioning the nature of UniSat Wallet's brc20-swap.
Xu highlighted the risks associated with platforms lacking robust compliance measures and emphasized the need for regulatory adherence.
He also revealed OKX's proactive efforts to establish a global standard compliance infrastructure, underscoring the platform's commitment to security.
Additionally, Xu's inquiry into UniSat Wallet's brc20-swap reflects ongoing scrutiny of compliance measures within the industry.[7][8]
In September 2025, Xu said OKX Web3 had tested an onchain perpetuals product since 2023 but chose not to launch it on mainnet because of regulatory concerns, including concerns about regulatory enforcement.[14]
In June 2026, Xu argued that exchanges should compete on products, technology, execution, governance, and trust rather than regulatory arbitrage.[15]
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