Jason Lau, the Chief Innovation Officer at OKX Exchange, discusses OKX's innovative approach in an exclusive interview with Mike Ermolaev for the GoCrypto series powered by GoMining. Lau provides an overview of the exchange's strategic initiatives and perspectives on legal matters, mainstream adoption, and interoperability. He also sheds light on ground-breaking projects like the X layer and calculated investments in AI integration.
The X Layer: Pushing Boundaries in Blockchain Technology
Jason characterizes the X layer, the most recent innovation from OKX, as the new layer 2. It's a Polygon layer on zkEVM, or zero-knowledge proof, which supports all the EVM-compatible use cases and applications. He underscores its significance within OKX's ecosystem, especially its advantages for developers.
"They have access to sort of the exchange connectivity; they have access to the OKX wallet, and both of them already support the X layer. They will also be part of the community of over 200 different applications and protocols that have already been deployed onto the X layer, including really strong infrastructure players. It's part of the way to hopefully create new experiences through all these different pieces and really be able to connect the OKX community into the on-chain world."
Empowering Developers: The Technological Edge of zkEVM
Specific decisions were made on technological aspects of the X layer, for example, the utilization of zkEVM, the first zero knowledge scaling solution compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, which allows for increased scalability. This technology enhances user experiences by enabling fast transactions and low fees. Lau's insights underscore OKX's dedication to harnessing cutting-edge technology to drive efficiency and usability.
“Most importantly, what it ultimately delivers is a better user experience for developers and end users, with fast transactions and low fees. I think that experience is critical when you build and deploy app applications,” Lau shares.
Moreover, Lau emphasizes the interconnectedness of the X layer with the OKX ecosystem.
"It’s very well connected to our existing OKX products, our wallet, or exchange, but it's also connected via the supporting aggregation layer to allow all supported Polygon CDK layers to be connected. There's this interoperability that's coupled with scalability that's very powerful. And we hope to see developers take advantage of that and build."
Strategic Investments: Integrating AI and Blockchain
Our audience raised some questions about OKX's strategic investments in platforms like io.net and MyShell, which might reflect the platform's broader vision of integrating AI and blockchain technology. Lau confirms that it’s indeed OKX's goal to make crypto and Web 3 more accessible to regular users.
“When it comes to AI, this is a very interesting new area where Web 3 types of blockchains have a lot to contribute to the development of AI. This could be useful, especially in areas where AI is weak, i.e., how do you know something is real? Blockchain technology can be the answer here.”
Lau also expresses OKX's active support of valid use cases of AI within the blockchain space, stating,
"We are going to be very eager to support these types of use cases where they are valid, and again, we're here to provide the access."
AI's Impact on Digital Ecosystems: Enhancing User Experiences
Besides blockchain integrations, AI has the potential to impact user interaction with digital ecosystems, including web-based exchange platforms. Jason Lau envisions AI as a powerful tool for enhancing user experiences and improving business operations: “As I mentioned earlier, when we see these use cases develop further, we're going to be very keen to utilize AI tools. If users want this access, we are going to be very keen to develop products to allow them to do so.”
OKX is already looking to integrate AI into various aspects of its business operations.
"At OKX, we're looking to see how we can also use AI in different parts of our business, including things like fraud detection and helping users make more informed choices by getting better data," Lau shares.
Charting the Future: Navigating Evolving Landscapes
Jason Lau provides a glimpse into the future of OKX and the broader crypto industry. In order to support the expansion of Web 3, he emphasizes the significance of widespread adoption, interoperability, and the use of emerging technologies.
To conclude our discussion, Lau reaffirms OKX's dedication to not only technological innovations but also responsible practices. "We are very focused on building and bringing more access to crypto and Web 3 and doing it in a very transparent way. And so, when we think about any of our products, we want to make sure that we work with our users, our stakeholders, including regulators, and other partners to make sure that we do that in the right way.
Examples of that are obviously our proof-of-reserve product, in which we allow users to verify that their assets on our platform have not been misused. On the Web 3 side, we are working very hard to open source a lot of our wallet code. We're working with the developer community to support new standards, like we did with Ethereum smart modular accounts. So there's a lot going on on our side, and we're eager to contribute to the continued growth of Web 3.”
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
