On January 24, 2026, at 8 PM Beijing time, during a ceremonial New Year's Eve dinner, OKX Founder and CEO Star sent a clear signal to the industry through a public speech: in the future, OKX will expand on-chain assets and payment scenarios within the global regulatory framework, treating compliance as a main line rather than a stopgap measure. He emphasized that the post-90s, post-95s, and post-00s are becoming the main participants in crypto assets, while also warning the industry to be cautious of the speculative impulse focused solely on short-term profits. The tension between the long-term path of compliance and the short-term mindset of "the next big turnaround" was laid bare at the dinner table. As this generation of young people is brought in on a large scale, the image of the crypto industry and its ability to gain social respect has begun to become a sharper issue than price fluctuations.
Declaration at the New Year's Eve Dinner: From Wild Growth to Regulatory Track
● Public Statement on Compliance Direction: In this New Year's Eve speech, Star clearly stated that OKX will expand on-chain assets and payment scenarios within the global regulatory framework in the future, no longer treating the "gray area" as a growth soil, but rather building compliance as infrastructure. This statement did not elaborate on specific timelines or measures, but it effectively sent a declaration of positioning to regulators, users, and peers simultaneously: OKX hopes to be a participant within the rules, rather than a gambler on the edges.
● Regulatory Shadows Since 2017: The focus of Star's remarks is backed by the reality that global attention to crypto asset regulation has been continuously increasing since 2017. From early rounds of "comprehensive crackdowns" to more refined licensing and review frameworks in recent years, compliance pressure has risen simultaneously across multiple jurisdictions. The once "wild growth" phase relied on policy vacuums and arbitrage opportunities, but now faces penetrating regulation; if platforms do not actively engage in dialogue with regulators, they will be passively reshaped by the rules or even cleared out.
● From Marginal to Mainstream Pressure: Briefings indicate that crypto assets have now entered the mainstream asset category in multiple countries, with traditional finance re-pricing this market from ETFs to custody services. The elevation of asset status is also forcing leading platforms to publicly take sides: whether to continue acting as "underground exchanges" with high leverage and bottomless new projects, or to evolve into mainstream financial infrastructure roles. Star's declaration at the New Year's Eve dinner is essentially a response to this "moment of positioning."
The Rise of the Post-90s to Post-00s: They Rewrite the Participation in Crypto
● Young Groups Become New Main Force: Star pointed out in his speech that the post-90s, post-95s, and post-00s are becoming important participants in crypto assets, which is not only a change in user demographics but also a transfer of generational dominance. For many post-00s, crypto accounts and on-chain wallets are as natural as social media accounts; they do not enter the market seeing a niche geek circle, but rather a "semi-mainstream" market with ETFs, compliance licenses, and global trading platforms.
● The Appeal of Transparency and Self-Custody: Compared to the previous generation of users who relied more on bank branches and financial advisors, this generation of young people is more accustomed to checking transaction records on-chain and verifying fund flows in public contracts. They have a stronger preference for transparency and self-custody, willing to learn how to use non-custodial wallets and how to diversify asset storage risks. The characteristic of crypto assets being publicly verifiable on-chain aligns closely with their expectations of "traceable information" formed in the internet environment.
● Contrast with the Previous Generation's Risk Memory: The collective memory of the previous generation of investors regarding high-risk financial products often comes from offline financial advisory stores, shadow banking, and certain real estate and P2P product failures. In those stories, information was extremely asymmetric, contracts were obscure, and the flow of funds was unclear. Today's young crypto participants are more likely to do their homework through online communities, data websites, and on-chain browsers, actively choosing to bear short-term high volatility, but with a stronger sense of psychological security regarding "I know where the money is, and the rules are written on-chain."
Breaking Free from the P2P Shadow: The Crypto Industry Reshapes Its Self-Narrative
● Cutting Ties with Traditional High-Risk Industries: Star quoted a sharply pointed statement in his speech—"Much better than P2P and real estate companies, which have never cheated the common people out of a penny." This statement is both a response to historical lessons and a reconstruction of the crypto industry's self-positioning. The implied assertion is that the core risk of crypto lies in price volatility and voluntary participation, rather than structural fraud or the illusion of guaranteed returns; the industry needs to actively cut ties with past models that implemented collective misguidance under the guise of "wealth management" and "real estate investment."
● Competing for the Halo of the Tech Industry: In the same segment of the speech, Star stated that crypto practitioners can "stand shoulder to shoulder with those in AI, autonomous driving, and other fields" in terms of social status. This is not merely a compliment but an attempt to incorporate crypto into a larger technological narrative: if AI addresses computational power and cognitive efficiency issues, and autonomous driving reshapes transportation and urban space, then crypto and on-chain assets are reshaping value recording, clearing, and global payment networks. The industry yearns to distance itself from the "investment field" label and squeeze into the mainstream narrative of technological innovation.
● Turning from Profit to Social Respect: Star candidly stated, "Besides making money, we also need social respect." In an industry that once attracted traffic with myths of sudden wealth, this statement is undoubtedly countercurrent. It transforms "compliance" from an external pressure into an internal demand: if the industry wishes to be seen as a serious infrastructure builder rather than a short-term casino operator, it must actively pursue sustainable business models, employee dignity, and long-term trust relationships with regulators and the public.
Speculative Impulse vs. Long-Termism: The Industry's Self-Interrogation at a Crossroads
● The Inertia of Short-Term Wealth Narratives: The popular narratives surrounding the crypto market still revolve around "doubling," "tenfold coins," and "bull market wealth freedom," which are in stark conflict with Star's emphasis on technology-driven and long-termism. The hype around new projects launched by platforms and the community's frenzy over price curves continuously reinforce short-term thinking. The speech at the New Year's Eve dinner, to some extent, serves as a reminder to practitioners: if the industry is left with only price curves and lacks the patience to build infrastructure, even the most bullish markets will merely be a series of amplified cycles.
● Friction Between Compliance Path and Short-Term Culture: True compliance will limit leverage multiples, raise listing thresholds, and strengthen KYC/AML processes, which naturally creates friction with the "high-frequency short-term trading culture." For platforms, continuing to cater to extreme speculative demands under strict regulation means bearing higher compliance risks; while choosing to cool down short-term plays may sacrifice some trading activity. Star's compliance declaration is essentially a bet: the trust dividends brought by long-termism and robust systems will ultimately outweigh the losses from short-term volumes.
● Regulatory Red Lines and Rising Costs: This game is not an abstract discussion. The briefing mentioned that the UK imposed a £5 million fine in the Sen Hok Ling money laundering case, and such cases are sending clearer signals to the global industry—regulatory red lines are no longer vague, and the costs of violations have been significantly raised. For leading platforms, the cost of continuing to operate in gray areas may escalate from past warnings to substantial financial and licensing penalties, which objectively pushes platforms to reassess their "safe distance" from speculative culture.
Global Perspective Echo: ETF and Macroeconomic Narratives in Resonance
● ETF Net Inflows and Mainstream Endorsement: At the same time that Star spoke about "moving towards the mainstream," another signal emerged from the market—Solana's spot ETF product FSOL saw a net inflow of $1.87 million in a single day. This type of capital inflow is not driven by retail investors following trends but is an institutional allocation centered around compliant products. It resonates with Star's mainstream narrative in timing: as on-chain assets are embedded in the traditional financial system through tools like ETFs, the regulatory framework is no longer optional but a market access threshold.
● Macroeconomic Policies and Bitcoin Logic: The briefing pointed out that BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes predicted that Japan's intervention in the yen exchange rate would benefit Bitcoin. This judgment is not new but reiterates how macro narratives penetrate crypto investment logic—monetary policy, foreign exchange interventions, and government bond yields are increasingly viewed as key variables for price and capital flows by crypto participants. This "macroeconomic" perspective also reinforces the linkage between crypto assets and the global financial system, rather than existing in isolation.
● Coexistence of Regulatory Constraints and Macroeconomic Benefits: On one side are ETF net inflows and the demand for macro funds seeking hedging assets, while on the other side are increasingly detailed regulatory requirements and compliance red lines. These two forces are parallel, placing the crypto industry at a critical stage of being re-priced by traditional finance—asset attributes are recognized, valuations are incorporated into mainstream pricing frameworks, while behavioral boundaries are being delineated more strictly. Star's speech at the New Year's Eve dinner can be seen as a response to this dual landscape: to enjoy the valuation premium brought by mainstreaming, one must accept the constraints of mainstream finance on behavior.
Compliance and the Next Cycle Jointly Bet by Young People
In this New Year's Eve speech at the beginning of 2026, Star wove together three seemingly disparate threads of compliance, youthfulness, and social respect into a new industry narrative: a generation more familiar with on-chain tools is entering the market, unwilling to repeat the passive roles of the previous generation in P2P and real estate failures, hoping to bear risks within transparent rules and self-custody; while leading platforms, if they wish to gain long-term trust among this generation, must abandon reliance on gray arbitrage and shift towards compliance and technology-driven long-term construction.
As regulation continues to tighten and jurisdictions like the UK draw red lines with millions in fines, the net inflows into spot ETFs like Solana, along with the macro benefits emphasized by Arthur Hayes, are pushing traditional finance deeper into crypto asset pricing. For leading platforms like OKX, the core of future competition will no longer just be about who has a richer product line or lower fees, but who can provide younger users with more transparent and safer infrastructure within a compliance framework, and establish a stronger trust image in front of regulators and institutional funds.
When the next cycle of bull and bear markets inevitably arrives, will this batch of post-90s, post-95s, and post-00s truly push the industry towards long-termism as Star hopes, rather than a new round of "wealth and collapse" cycles? Will they be willing to continue investing in infrastructure, developers, and compliance building during bear markets, rather than just chasing profit snapshots in bull markets? This will determine whether the crypto industry can truly transition from the grand statements made at the New Year's Eve dinner to a reality respected by society.
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