Blockchain to host fifty percent of global activity, OKX exchange CEO says

Xu made the forecast on December 8, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, speaking at an event that brings together global financial leaders managing more than $60 trillion in assets, over half of global GDP. He framed the shift as a long-term structural change rather than a short-term market call, saying that the “internet generation” is building an entirely new on-chain economy that will gradually handle a large share of global value flows.

According to summaries of his remarks and a written version of the speech published by OKX and regional media, Xu described blockchains as “financial rails” for a digital-native population whose lives are already fully online. He said the expectation is for money to move “freely, instantly and globally, 24/7,” and argued that blockchain stands out because it provides a trustless, programmable storage and settlement layer that can match that always-on lifestyle.

Xu stressed that his claim is “not a speculative judgment, but a response to inevitable demand” for new financial infrastructure. In his view, deep integration of digitalization, mobility and AI is driving a “comprehensive upgrade of the economic system,” with blockchain breaking through limits of legacy internet-era systems and replacing isolated financial silos with an open global network.

He linked the outlook to several trends that, in his view, show that on-chain finance has already moved beyond the experimental phase. Coverage of the speech notes that he pointed to rapid growth in stablecoin usage, tokenized assets and on-chain settlement volumes as indicators that increasingly large slices of payments, trading and saving are already happening on public networks. OKX crypto exchange CEO also outlined how he sees different crypto segments fitting into that future. 

He referred to Bitcoin as a form of “digital gold” for younger investors, while presenting stablecoins as the foundation for near-instant cross-border payments. Tokenized versions of traditional assets – such as funds and bonds – were described as the basis for a 24/7 market where issuance, trading and settlement occur on a shared base layer with transparent rules and integrated compliance checks.

In the written version of his remarks, Xu argued that, in every major technology cycle, more open, transparent and efficient systems eventually outcompete closed and less efficient ones. He positioned blockchain as the next stage after the rise of the internet, smartphones and cloud computing, saying that young users are already the first group to adopt on-chain systems for payments, savings and investing.

Biographical material from OKX describes Xu as a physics-trained engineer who founded the exchange and has overseen its expansion into one of the largest global crypto trading and Web3 platforms by volume. Under his leadership, OKX now offers both centralized exchange services and a Web3 wallet, putting it at the intersection of traditional trading infrastructure and the on-chain applications he highlighted in Abu Dhabi.

The Abu Dhabi event itself underlines the audience for such predictions. Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2025 is hosted by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and is set to feature CEOs and founders from major global financial institutions – including Allianz, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS and others – managing more than $60 trillion in assets. Star Xu appears on the list of headline speakers alongside leaders from large banks and exchanges, placing his blockchain forecast directly in front of mainstream finance decision-makers.

Xu’s 50% figure remains a long-horizon prediction rather than a formal target tied to specific metrics. But by tying it to observable growth in stablecoins, tokenization and on-chain settlement, and by presenting it at a forum representing over half of global GDP, the OKX CEO is attempting to position blockchain as a future backbone for a significant share of the world’s economic liquidity rather than a niche asset class on the edge of the system.