Representatives from the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform, OKEx will be attending the upcoming London Blockchain Week 2020 event to exchange their views on digital assets and mainstream financial instruments. According to the company, the Financial Markets Director Lennix Lai, and the Financial Market Assistant Vice President Philip Glover will be part of the different panels during their attendance at the event.
Lennix Lai, who has been a very vocal proponent of the use of cryptocurrency to tackle the issues of “unbankedness” will be part of a panel on March 10, 2020. He is expected to share his opinions on the role of digital asset derivatives and sophisticated financial instruments during the CryptoCompare Digital Asset Summit. Meanwhile, Philip Grover will discuss mainstream maturity: crypto prime brokerage at the same event.
Looking forward to his participation in the event, Lennix Lai said, “London is one of the traditional world financial centers with complete financial infrastructures, a highly-inclusive market environment and a large number of world-class investment institutions. Currently, 70% of the trading volume on OKEx comes from institutional traders, and London has always been one of OKEx’s most important markets. With the development of digital assets globally, traditional institutions would be a blossom to the market. This is a perfect opportunity in connecting the traditional finance space and crypto space, a chance to better understand the derivatives and other financial instruments that OKEx provides.”
Similar to one of the earlier events at Davos along the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting, the London event is also a very important one, as the city is one of the major fintech destinations. Being one of the influential blockchain events in the world, developments during the London Blockchain Week will have a considerable impact on the global cryptocurrency landscape. The event is expected to host thousands of industry experts, investors, institutions, and digital asset enthusiasts.
OKEx is also hosting VIP Drinks on March 12, 2020, two days after their representatives’ presence at the cryptocurrency summit.
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An Interview With Lennix Lai on OKEx’ Role in Promoting Financial Inclusion
Lennix Lai, the Director of Financial Markets at OKEx recently gained the attention of the global financial and cryptocurrency community by pitching the idea of his company working with governments and other institutions to eliminate “unbankedness”. The location and timing of his speeches in this regard is of utmost importance as Lai spoke at length about blockchain technology and how it could help in promoting financial inclusion while attending high-profile events along the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting at Davos.
We had a few questions for Lai, to understand more about his vision, and this is what he had to say.
NewsBTC: The problem of being unbanked has been discussed by many before you, and there have also been few initiatives taken in this regard. What according to you is the reason for the failure of such programs to ensure everyone has access to financial services?
Lennix Lai (L): In one word – Trust.
The absence of basic financial knowledge would give the unbanked a hard time to trust a financial institution. Previous attempts focused on removing the barrier of access to banking via technological means, whilst the last miles of financial inclusion is the psychological trust. Blockchain might be a potential answer to this.
NewsBTC: What do you think needs to be done to achieve 100% financial inclusion in the world?
L: We need a “bank” that operates across borders, in multiple jurisdictions addressing the basic demands of the unbanked – payment, remittances, storage of value in a secure manner. We believe with the adoption on mobile technology and internet, proper integration with state-backed crypto and blockchain, everyone with a phone can access basic banking services in a very cost-efficient manner
NewsBTC: In a recent event, you mentioned that OKEx can help address “Unbankedness”. What can OKEx bring to the table?
L: OKEx believes the core ingredients of next-gen financial inclusion are the usage of stablecoin, underlying blockchain technology and a fair and transparent exchange market. We created a fully regulated stablecoin USDK; the launch of OKchain is on the way; and we are now one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world endorsed by major institutions.
NewsBTC: Are there any initiatives already in place at OKEx to help the unbanked?
L: Currently we are building some pilot services with local partners on USDK to be used as a settlement layer for cross border transaction. We are looking to expand the partnership with same thoughts too.
Another major challenge banks face when trying to serve the unbanked is that many of them do not have a clear ID (no birth certificate or police registration) to satisfy the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) checks. With growing numbers of endorsement from global regulators, blockchain can assist financial institutions to simplify their KYC practices by giving individuals their own digital identities to use for banking, property rights, etc. Thus the unbanked can make and receive transactions with blockchain, remittances to foreign countries will also be painless and much more efficient.
NewsBTC: Can you tell us about your vision of “Inclusive Sustainable Development”?
L: To cross one of the biggest hurdles in human wellbeing, many suggested that blockchain technology can make a difference in the world by helping those left behind by the traditional financial sector to gain access to financial services that could boost their living standards, and substantially lower the operational costs to serve areas that traditional banking cannot cover. With such vision, OKEx should not be working alone like an island, we urge the community and market players to join hands in building a market that is financial inclusive, yet mutually beneficial to tthe raditional financial system. We would love to step forward as a pioneer in striking such a balance.
NewsBTC: Does OKEx have any social initiatives already in place or in the pipeline? Can you please tell us more about them, and how people are/will benefit from it?
L: Although there is not yet a specific social initiative already in place. Here at OKEx, we are committed to bringing a robust and trustable environment to cater to crypto users; working on the hardware and software to engage with and perform the best compliance practice in the industry. In 2020, OKEx will continue its effort on developing stablecoin, OKEx wallet and also derivatives products. We believe blockchain can achieve an inclusive sustainable development as well as financial inclusion for all, banked and unbanked.
NewsBTC: Meanwhile, as the global economy stares at a slowdown, do you think digital assets can guide the world out of this tough phase? How will financial inclusion address the current situation?
L: I believe digital assets could counter the global economic slowdown. EY research demonstrates sizeable economic benefits, particularly for emerging economies, from driving greater financial inclusion. Financial inclusion can boost GDP by up to 14% in large developing economies such as India and up to 30% in frontier markets such as Kenya. With digital assets and blockchain tackling the last barrier, global economic growth can be much more optimistic
NewsBTC: It is evident that your participation in events at Davos has been successful. What are your key takeaways from the discussions you had there? How was the general reception to your ideas?
L: The major takeaway in Davos is the surprise of the number of crypto discussions in a forum that has historically been focusing on the global economy. It’s symbolic to me that blockchain and crypto might be the next growth catalyst for the world economy.
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OKEx’ Lennix Lai Makes Presence Felt at Davos, Roots for 100% Financial Inclusion with Blockchain
The changing landscape of the global economy due to the technological progress in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector is not lost on anybody. As the countries of this world look at ways to embrace this technology without treading on the toes of the well-established financial systems, some of the industry leaders from the crypto space are making their presence felt at gatherings of international importance to give insights into the blockchain space to ministers, bureaucrats and heads of financial institutions from all over the world with the intent of helping them make informed decisions in their respective nations on implementation of cryptocurrency-based solutions to solve real-world problems. These meetings also help in furthering the cause of cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption to derive value out of it.
In the same context, the Financial Markets Director at OKEx Lennix Lai has been making his presence felt during the latest edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting currently being held in Davos. While at Davos, Lai took part in two major events – Russia House 2020 and EmTech Investment Meeting 2020 where he stressed upon the need to bring over 2 billion unbanked people across the world into the fold of financial services.
A majority of the unbanked population haven’t been able to access traditional financial services so far due to various reasons including the inability of banks to set up branches in remote areas due to heavy operational costs, lack of awareness among the individuals about the benefits of financial services and how it can improve their quality of life, lack of trust in the banking system, illiteracy and even the creditworthiness or lack thereof of the individuals seeking to open an account. During the talks, Lei presented a strong case for blockchain technology by elaborating on how it can be used to overcome the financial inclusion challenges currently faced by governments and banking institutions.
Lennix Lai made a statement at the Russia House 2020 event saying, “Unbankedness has been a global challenge. The underprivileged who are not able to afford or return with enough economic benefits to the bank are left behind from a decent living standard… Blockchain and cryptocurrencies appear to be a solution to the problem by providing a digital, decentralized financial system that can work mutually-beneficially with traditional markets to substantially lower the operational costs and serve the areas traditional banking cannot cover.”
In fact, there are numerous studies conducted in this regard, and most of them have concluded that the use of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology-based alternative financial solutions can help in achieving 100% financial inclusion. However, when it comes to implementation, governments across the world are still lagging behind. The studies have also shown that the adoption of decentralized ledger technology in mainstream banking could also drastically reduce their operating costs which could in turn influence the expansion of banking networks even to the remotest of places.
Being one of the leading cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform with a global audience, OKEx believes that it can contribute towards the development of a robust alternative financial infrastructure in partnership with all the stakeholders to influence complete financial inclusion. Outlining the company’s vision and commitment at the EmTech Investment Meeting 2020 Lennix Lai said,
“As a leading crypto exchange with a vision of financial inclusion, we are committed to bringing a robust and trustable environment to cater to crypto users.” Further adding, “We see the endorsement from global regulators. Hence, we do the best in engaging with them and performing the best compliance practice in the industry. We also see the volatility of bitcoin getting lower, making it become a favorable alternative asset for mainstream finance. And the recent surge of DeFi reflects that people are starting to brace a free, open, permission-less financial system. With our recently launched options, coupled with our futures and spot markets, crypto users can now manage the price fluctuation of crypto. In 2020, we will continue our effort on developing stablecoin, OKEx wallet and also derivatives products. At OKEx, we believe blockchain can achieve an inclusive sustainable development as well as financial inclusion for all, banked and unbanked.”
OKEx is already active in creating universal solutions in the blockchain space by kickstarting initiatives that address various shortcomings in the new age fintech industry. The platform’s initiative to create a Global SRO to bring in uniformity in the rules and regulations for the crypto industry while implementing good practices for such businesses is widely recognized in the industry. Also, Lennix Lai’s recent participation in the two Davos’ events held at the sidelines of 50th WEF Annual Meeting has helped OKEx interact with government officials and businessmen, which could prove to be instrumental in garnering their support for the planning and implementation of the financial inclusion product based on a stablecoin.
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