OK Coin, a US based global digital currency exchange has announced major changes to its executive leadership team. As per statement released by the firm, its current Chief Executive Officer Mr.Tim Byun has been named as Global Government Relations Officer for OK Group relieving him from his current role as head of the firm while Ms. Hong Fang who is currently serving as Chairman of the Board at OK Group has been appointed the role of Chief Executive Officer for OK Coin. The changes made to leadership team are set to come into effect from 31st March 2020. Tim Byun, current head of the firm has been instrumental in the firm’s global growth efforts and has played a key role in establishing the firm’s presence across US and European market. OK Coin was originally co-founded by OK group CEO Star Xu back in 2013 in Beijing China and has since grown into a global crypto exchange giant with services in nearly 184 countries now.
Current CEO of OK Coin Mr. Byun was instrumental in forming the firm’s US division and helped open its first office in September of 2017 based in Mountain View, California. Tim also played a major role and was in-charge of opening OK Coin’s then US headquarters and now global headquarters currently located in San Francisco Bay area. The SF bay area office was opened on June 2018 post while at the same time the firm focused on its expansion into European market. Mr. Byn led the team in-charge of global expansion research which was formed in early 2018 and by October 2018 he helped the firm open its first European office in Malta and launch of its Euro-book. As the group’s global government relations officer, Tim will now focus completely on OK Group’s continued global expansion efforts while also remaining in constant communication with various governments and regulators from across the globe on behalf of both OK Coin and OK Group. Some of Tim’s other notable roles include – CRO & Head of Government relations at OK Link, CCO at BitPay Inc, AML Officer & Head of Global Credit Settlement Risk at Visa and VP/Credit Administration at The Asahi Bank Ltd.
Ms. Hong Fang who has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of OK Coin is a former Vice President of Investment Banking division at US based multinational banking and financial service provider Goldman Sachs. Post her 8-yr term with US bank, she served as head of investment and strategy at Giant Interactive Group Inc – a leading online game developer based out of China. Ms. Fang has been a part of OK Group for nearly nine months now and had been serving in roles of Chief Operations Officer of OK Coin and Chairman of Board at OK Group. Ms. Fang will serve in her new role as head of OK Coin alongside her existing responsibilities from 31st March 2020 as per statement released by the firm.
Speaking about his new role as Global Government Relations Officer for OK Group, Tim Byun said “As we enter a new decade, the crypto industry will truly become more global and ubiquitous with the collaboration of governments, especially those that have evolved from a wait-and-see-approach to developing new regulatory frameworks, such as Singapore, Germany and France. I’ve always believed that working transparently with governments and regulators is vital to helping OK Coin and the overall crypto ecosystem to grow in a safe and sound manner. This new appointment is an exciting challenge and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as our group continues to expand to new territories. I’m also confidently passing on the OKCoin torch to the capable hands of Chairman Hong, who will be appointed as CEO when our transition is completed on March 31, 2020. With her natural leadership skills and her distinguished career in finance and business strategy, I have no doubt that she’ll take OK Coin to new heights and achieve our mission of making digital assets accessible to the world”.
Speaking about her new role as head of OK Coin, Chairman Hong Fang said, “I want to thank Tim for his remarkable leadership and contribution. His strong compliance expertise, balanced approach to business, and strategic thinking has been instrumental for us in establishing our US and European presence among industry volatilities. I’m glad that he will continue to work with us in his new capacity and help us grow. Since OKCoin was founded in 2013, we have been a firm believer in the power of an open financial system empowered by cryptocurrency and its underlying blockchain technology. We want to make it easy and safe to buy and sell crypto assets with fiat anywhere in the world, because that is the very first step (and a fundamental component) to building an open and inclusive financial system. This goal has never changed for us. We are proud that we have always been standing at the forefront of a transformative industry. Now with our international headquarters in San Francisco, we look forward to working with a growing, mission-driven team, continuing to provide safe, secure and compliant fiat on-ramp to crypto assets to our customers worldwide and playing an active role in bringing cryptocurrency into the mainstream”.
