OKCoin hires 2 top talents as it gears for global expansion

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Global digital currency exchange OKCoin has added two top talents, poaching them from industry titans Blockchain.com and Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN). The San Francisco-based exchange brought in Megan Monroe-Coleman from Coinbase to head its compliance division, while Haider Rafique left Blockchain.com to serve as the new chief marketing officer.

Monroe-Coleman has been serving as the senior director of compliance for Coinbase since March 2019. She was in charge of global product compliance, ensuring that the American exchange met all regulatory requirements. Prior to this, she served in similar compliance roles at HBUS, the U.S. subsidiary of Huobi Group, Intuit and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Monroe-Coleman joins the exchange at a time when compliance has become a key part for any digital currency service provider.

Speaking to CoinGeek, a spokesperson for the firm explained just how integral compliance is for the exchange:

We take compliance very seriously, and we always have. It is the very foundation of our strategy. Our growth plan involves only opening trading in regions where we are 100% compliant with local regulations. We also maintain strict KYC (Know Your Customer) methods, and we have one of the most sophisticated fraud prevention and anti-money laundering methodologies in the industry.

Rafique also joins OKCoin as the CMO after serving in a similar role at digital currency wallet Blockchain.com. During his tenure, the company’s wallet user base grew from 26 million to 42 million. Rafique, who has served in companies including Microsoft and CA Technologies, joins OKCoin at a time when company is rapidly expanding and will be a key player in this growth

“Haider and Megan both bring a wealth of crypto industry experience and senior-level consultation to the company and as such we expect them to play important roles in our expansion. With Haider’s growth-oriented marketing background, we feel well equipped to unlock the new wave of user growth, while Megan’s experience in compliance will help fulfill our mission of making cryptocurrencies available to the world in a safe, secure and fully compliant manner,” the spokesperson told us.

OKCoin revealed a month ago that it had acquired a license to operate in Japan. Through its OKCoin Japan subsidiary, the exchange will allow users to deposit and withdraw the Japanese yen seamlessly.

“Operations for OKCoin Japan will begin in Q4 of 2020,” the spokesperson told CoinGeek

On the effect of the global pandemic on its trading volume, the exchange has defied odds and continued to grow. “Traders have been very active on the platform during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since mid-march, when San Francisco mandated the shelter in place ordnance, we’ve seen our trading volume double and even tripled on some days.”