OKX Shelved Its Own On-Chain Perps Platform Amid U.S. Regulatory Uncertainty

Crypto exchange OKX quietly built a decentralized perpetuals trading platform similar to Hyperliquid and Aster but decided not to launch it over regulatory concerns, founder and CEO Star Xu revealed on Sunday.

Xu said in an X post that OKX’s Web3 division developed the unnamed product back in 2023. “Hyperliquid proved that massive success in on-chain perps can be achieved with very few employees. Now, more competitors like Aster are stepping into the space,” he wrote. 

“OKX Web3 has been testing a similar product since 2023, but we chose not to launch mainnet due to regulatory concerns.”

OKX Built Product but Never Deployed

The comments highlight how quickly decentralized perpetuals trading has grown. Hyperliquid, which launched in 2024, has become one of decentralized finance’s largest perpetuals venues, recording a record $319 billion in trading volume in July alone. 

Aster, backed by CZ-affiliated YZi Labs and launched in July, has already logged more than $22 billion in trades over the past 30 days, according to DeFiLlama.

Xu pointed to the CFTC’s 2023 enforcement action against Deridex as a cautionary example. The CFTC alleged that Deridex illegally offered digital asset derivatives and failed to register as a swap execution facility or a futures commission merchant, taking particular aim at its perpetual swaps. 

Other protocols, including Opyn and ZeroEx, were also cited for offering leveraged and margined retail commodity transactions in digital assets.

Regulatory Hurdles and Industry Shifts

“While we celebrate the growth of on-chain perps, we should not forget the CFTC enforcement against Deridex in 2023,” Xu said, adding that “regulatory enforcement has fundamentally shifted — hopefully the industry can soon gain much-needed clarity.”

Recent political changes could eventually ease those concerns. Since the election of crypto-friendly U.S. President Donald Trump in January, regulators have signaled a more open stance toward digital assets. 

On Saturday, the CFTC appointed new members to its Global Markets Advisory Committee, adding several crypto industry leaders to the Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee. 

Meanwhile, a White House report released in July recommended that crypto oversight be shared between the CFTC and the SEC, with the CFTC taking the lead on spot crypto markets.