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The cryptocurrency industry is growing under tighter rules, as large exchanges shape their next cycle around licenses and products built to withstand regulatory scrutiny.
Instead of chasing explosive growth through speculative listings and <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-to-long-and-short-with-margin-trading" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">high-leverage trading</a>, the focus for 2026 is shifting toward sturdier foundations, such as tighter fiat ramps, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/derivatives-in-crypto-explained" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">compliant derivatives in more jurisdictions</a> and building out stablecoin and tokenization rails.
Cointelegraph spoke with Haider Rafique, global managing partner at OKX, to unpack how major exchanges are preparing for the year ahead.&nbsp;
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 <img alt="Interview, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Stablecoin, OKX, RWA" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-12/019b546e-1814-781c-8729-5079aea8ac11.jpg">
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 OKX signals ambition to dominate licensed onshore crypto markets. Source: <a href="https://x.com/Haider/status/1950845138390982746" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Haider Rafique</a>
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<h2 id="exchanges-are-leaving-their-onshore-footprints">Exchanges are leaving their onshore footprints</h2>
Rafique said that OKX has already done the hard part: obtaining the regulatory green light to operate in almost all the regions it cares about.
“We anticipate there's going to be continued regulatory clarity in 2026,” he said, “mainly in the US and hopefully in other parts of Europe.” That will enable OKX to bring more of its derivatives franchise “onshore.”
The exchange now runs licensed services across the European Union (EU) from a Malta hub under the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license. It also holds a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/dubai-s-vara-approves-okx-preparatory-license-as-part-of-exchange-s-expansion-plans" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">license in Dubai</a>, operates registered entities in Australia, a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/okx-payment-license-approval-singapore-central-bank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">central bank‑approved</a> payments business in Singapore and a US platform that is <a href="https://www.okx.com/en-ae/help/us-licenses" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">licensed</a> as a money transmitter in most states.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/okx-reports-sharp-trading-growth-us-eu-expansion" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">OKX reports trading increase after expansion into US, EU</a>
It also maintains locally compliant operations in markets such as Brazil and Turkey, making it, in Rafique’s words, “probably the most licensed exchange in the world our size.”
That’s a bold claim as OKX is not the only exchange that has been on a licensing spree lately.
Coinbase holds dozens of licenses and registrations across 45 US states and multiple international jurisdictions, and in June <a href="https://www.coinbase.com/en-pt/blog/coinbase-secures-mica-licence-a-milestone-in-europes-crypto-evolution" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">secured</a> an EU‑wide MiCA license in Luxembourg.&nbsp;
Bybit has also obtained <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bybit-okx-launch-mica-compliant-crypto-platforms-europe" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">MiCA authorization</a> via Austria and a <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bybit-secures-uaes-first-virtual-asset-platform-operator-license-from-securities-and-commodities-authority-302580001.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">nod</a> from the United Arab Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority. Binance’s <a href="https://www.binance.com/en/about-legal/licenses" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">licensing list</a> includes 20 licenses and registrations in various jurisdictions.
In 2026, Rafique said the job for OKX is to ensure its licenses find success through localized, “fine-tuned” products and fiat on-ramps.
<h2 id="stablecoins-as-the-new-cash-leg">Stablecoins as the new cash leg</h2>
OKX’s first big structural bet in 2026 will be stablecoins. The global stablecoin market cap climbed to about <a href="https://defillama.com/stablecoins" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">$310 billion</a> in 2025, led by Tether’s USDT and USDC.&nbsp;
Rafique argued that exchanges are quietly transforming stablecoins into yield‑bearing financial products.
“If you put your money in a bank, you’re losing between 8% and 40% in high‑inflation markets,” he said, adding that funds also have to be locked up. In contrast, stablecoins let users park their crypto and earn with no lockup.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-abu-dhabi-fsra-licenses-exchange-clearing-broker-dealer" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">Binance secures ADGM licenses to operate international platform</a>
As benchmark interest rates have climbed into the mid‑single digits, yields on yield‑bearing stablecoins and centralized ‘earn’ products have also settled in roughly the 4%-8% range, instead of the double‑digit payouts seen in earlier cycles.
Paxos’ USDL, for instance, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-05/paxos-debuts-yield-bearing-stablecoin-issued-by-uae-affiliate" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">launched</a> with a roughly 5% annual yield in 2024, while major exchanges <a href="https://www.kraken.com/features/auto-earn/tether" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">such as</a> Kraken and OKX market around 5% rewards on idle USDT and USDC balances.
Stablecoin balances on exchanges climbed to record or near‑record levels in 2025, <a href="https://coinmetrics.io/state-of-the-network/state-of-the-network-q3-2025-wrap-up/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">according</a> to Coin Metrics, highlighting the shift toward yield‑plus‑liquidity products.
Still, S&amp;P Global, <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/en/research-insights/special-reports/stablecoins-a-deep-dive-into-valuation-and-depegging" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">warned </a>in a 2023 research that stablecoins are not risk-free as they can be vulnerable to de-pegging. The tokens are also “subject to market volatility, market confidence and adoption, technology risk, demand and supply, and market liquidity.”
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 <img alt="What crypto exchanges are watching in 2026, according to OKX’s Rafique" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-12/019b5072-7dcb-7019-bddb-31f9ab52e960.png" title="">
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 Understanding root causes for depeg events | Source: <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/en/research-insights/special-reports/stablecoins-a-deep-dive-into-valuation-and-depegging" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">S&amp;P Global</a>
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Elsewhere, the European Central Bank has warned that <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ecb-stablecoin-shock-monetary-policy-risk-2025" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">stablecoins pose global financial stability risks</a> and could draw retail deposits away from eurozone banks, sparking a sell-off of reserve assets.
<h2 id="tokenization-rwas-and-the-2026-product-slate">Tokenization, RWAs and the 2026 product slate</h2>
Beyond stablecoins, exchanges are gearing up for the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/tokenized-real-world-assets-rwa-in-defi" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">real‑world asset (RWA) tokenization</a> wave. The market for onchain tokenized assets climbed from under $10 billion in 2022 to more than <a href="https://app.rwa.xyz/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">$19 billion</a> in 2025, and <a href="https://www.21shares.com/en-eu/research/what-are-real-world-assets-and-why-do-we-need-tokenization" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">research</a> from 21.co projects it to $5 trillion by 2030.
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 <img alt="Interview, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Stablecoin, OKX, RWA" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-12/019b545e-904a-72e9-8792-3572531120bb.jpg" title="">
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 The RWA market started to attract sustained institutional interest in 2025. Source: <a href="https://app.rwa.xyz/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">RWA.xyz</a>
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Rafique said that RWAs are “in the very early innings,” pending regulatory clarity on whether tokenized assets qualify as utilities or securities. Once that distinction crystallizes, “companies are going to take this really seriously,” bringing commodities, stocks, and metals like gold and silver onchain, wrapped and tradable in exchanges.
A <a href="https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/state-of-crypto-report-2025/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">survey</a> by a16z found that around half of US Gen-Z and millennial adults now own or have traded crypto in the past year, putting digital assets on par with direct <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/tags/stocks" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">stock </a>ownership for many younger investors.
For Rafique, that’s why <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tokenized-stocks-rise-220-of-early-defi-boom" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">tokenized stocks</a> and RWAs belong on exchange apps. They bring traditional assets into the venue that younger users already treat as their primary market.
<h2 id="building-for-a-less-explosive-bitcoin">Building for a less explosive Bitcoin</h2>
Underpinning OKX’s strategy is a more tempered view of Bitcoin’s (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">BTC</a>) future, as the asset’s leading indicators shift from hype toward macroeconomic forces. Rafique said he sees BTC as increasingly tied to US Treasury yields, rate expectations, and equity correlations.
“I’m not like other folks where I’ll come up with a really obnoxious number,” he said when asked his <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">Bitcoin price</a> prediction for 2026.&nbsp;
His bear case for BTC is around $90,000, which rises to a range between $150,000 and $200,000 if rates ease and liquidity returns. He rejected “extreme bull cases” as reckless optimism that mislead retail investors.&nbsp;
“I don’t want people to lose their shirts,” he said.
That view defines OKX’s product lens for the coming year: treating crypto less like a once‑in‑a‑lifetime lottery ticket and more like a core macro asset that drives steady spot, derivatives and RWA flows across its newly licensed markets.

What crypto exchanges are watching in 2026, according to OKX’s Rafique

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