OKEx COO resigns to start his own blockchain consultancy firm BitWork

OKEx’s chief operating officer (COO) Andy Cheung has left the Asian cryptocurrency exchange.

Cheung has started his own blockchain consultancy firm BitWork in Hong Kong, according to an announcement Tuesday. With his new venture, Cheung aims to help drive the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies.

“My goal is to drive mass cryptocurrency adoption. But my contribution can be very limited in a cryptocurrency exchange. I decided, and we agreed amicably, that I can better achieve my goals with a new venture,” said Cheung, who served OKEx since its launch in 2017, per the announcement. 

Cheung said he gets asked several questions from blockchain projects, including “How to improve the quality of a project?; “What do the markets need?” - and is, therefore, looking to help them answer these questions.

"By helping more projects to get exposure and connecting them to different markets, we strive to facilitate mass crypto adoption,” said Cheung. BitWork will offer advisory, marketing, branding, fundraising, and event management services to cryptocurrency and blockchain projects, per the announcement. 

It is not clear whether OKEx has replaced Cheung’s position. The Block has reached out to the exchange and will update this story if we hear back.