The Scoop Okcoin is launching SATs mode as part of wider retail push
Okcoin, which was founded in 2013, is doing something different in a crowded field of crypto exchanges: it's going to allow clients to denominate trades in bitcoin in units of satoshi, rather than BTC.
On this episode of The Scoop, Okcoin CEO Hong Fang joined host Frank Chaparro for a discussion on Okcoin's rapid retail product launches and the hiring growth they've undergone in an effort to compete in the space. She also explained the reasoning for the launch of Satoshi dominated trades.
“Our focus and area of kind of innovation driven product efforts on the retail side continue to drive our product offerings. Some of those will also evolve into institutional offerings.” Said Fang.
Okcoin announced on The Scoop that they will be launching a “SATs Mode” in an effort to cater to retail client demand for Bitcoin. That SATs mode will mean an ability to package and sell Satoshis, or 1,000th of a bitcoin. Since bitcoin holders often hold only a portion of a bitcoin in decimals, Okcoin wants to make clients feel comfortable with Sats in order to make transactions easier to understand. This announcement comes on the heels of Okcoin's integration of Lightning, the layer 2 micropayment protocol used for for sending small amounts of Bitcoin. Okcoin is expecting to use this retail lead offering as an opportunity to test the waters for such a product for institutional grade clients.
In an attempt to capture more DeFi exposure for institutional clients, Okcoin recently also launched an Earn APY offering for institutions following their retail offering. In their view, Okcoin is focusing its business on participating in a decentralized future, though they acknowledge that as DeFi adoption grows the business could still evolve into something very different than an exchange, such as a DAO. “Ultimately everyone will own their own data,” Said Fang.
Episode 59 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded at the 2021 Mainnet Conference with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Hong Fang, CEO of Okcoin.
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