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OKX 'OG' Execs Tim Byun and Wei Lan Leave Crypto Exchange

Byun, who spent two years as CEO of Okcoin, had built out a global government relations role; Wei Lan was head of product for the exchange.

by Ian Allison|Edited by Nick Baker
Updated Apr 16, 2024, 7:28 p.m. Published Apr 16, 2024, 7:26 p.m.
OKX Global Head of Government Relations Tim Byun (OKX)
OKX Global Head of Government Relations Tim Byun (OKX)
  • Tim Byun was CEO of U.S. arm Okcoin between 2018 and 2020, and later became head of global government relations at OKX.
  • Wei Lan was head of product and ran the trading desk at the second-largest exchange by volume, according to a person familiar with the setup.

Long-term senior OKX executives Tim Byun, who was in charge of global government relations at the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, and Head of Product Wei Lan have both recently left the company, according to people familiar with he matter.

For two years, between 2018 and 2020, Byun held the position of CEO at Okcoin, the exchange's U.S. subsidiary, before taking up the government relations role.

Wei Lan oversaw much of the trading desk activity at OKX, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The exchange group is in the process of consolidating its parts under the single OKX brand, shifting away from having a separate U.S. brand. Other recent departures include OKX Global Compliance Chief Patrick Donegan, who left in January after just six months.

OKX declined to comment. Byun and Lan did not respond to requests for comment.

Ian Allison

Ian Allison is a senior reporter at CoinDesk, focused on institutional and enterprise adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Prior to that, he covered fintech for the International Business Times in London and Newsweek online. He won the State Street Data and Innovation journalist of the year award in 2017, and was runner up the following year. He also earned CoinDesk an honourable mention in the 2020 SABEW Best in Business awards. His November 2022 FTX scoop, which brought down the exchange and its boss Sam Bankman-Fried, won a Polk award, Loeb award and New York Press Club award. Ian graduated from the University of Edinburgh. He holds ETH.

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