OKB, the in-house token for leading crypto derivatives exchange OKEx, rallied more than 19% Wednesday and reached a new all-time high of $52.31 after OKX founder Star Xu announced the launch of a new blockchain, OKBChain, in the first quarter of this year.
After the most recent price spike, OKB is now the 25th biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
The blockchain will be independent of the current Okxchain, which is a proof-of-stake (POS) chain co-built by communities. In contrast, OKBChain is developed and operated solely by OKX company.
Founder Star Xu clarified the difference between the two chains in a tweet, saying, "To clarify, Okxchain is a POS chain which is totally open and co-built by communities. OKBChain is developed and operated by OKX company. The two chains are totally separate."
Xu also noted the community's trust in OKX and the significance of the new blockchain in a tweet, saying, "ATH, it's good news. Also, it's the community's trust in OKX. A new OKBChain will be launched in Q1 which is independent of the current Okxchain, and start to build OKB decentralized ecosystem."OKEx launched OKXChain mainnet in late December 2020, embodying blockchain's core qualities of openness and decentralization. The mainnet was rolled out in four stages, with the fourth and final phase enabling the smart contract virtual machine and making OKExChain compatible with all projects on Ethereum.
With the announcement of OKBChain, OKX is poised to expand its decentralized ecosystem and further cement its position as a leading player in the crypto space.