Bitcoin or Ethereum? OKX’s Hong Fang weighs institutional divide

As institutions poured capital into Ethereum, OKX President Hong Fang reframed the debate. It’s not a zero-sum game, but a divergence of core functions: Bitcoin anchors value while Ethereum builds the new financial system’s programmable plumbing. Notably, debate appears to be reshaping OKX’s product playbook.

On September 4, VanEck digital asset research and investment analysts published their August crypto market recap, noting one of the sharpest divergences between Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in years.

The report, which pointed to institutional conviction in “stablecoins and digital asset treasury accumulation” as the core drivers behind Ethereum’s commanding performance, showed $4 billion in inflows to ETH exchange-traded products, while Bitcoin ETPs suffered $600 million in outflows.

The shift helped drag Bitcoin’s market dominance down to 57% from a five-year high of 65% just two months earlier. At the same time, Ethereum’s resurgence was mirrored in price action. ETH gained nearly 16% in August while Bitcoin slipped more than 7%, underscoring the growing separation in how institutions are positioning around the two largest crypto assets.

Two weeks after the report, crypto.news had a Q&A interview with OKX President Hong Fang, who framed the trend as more than just a trading rotation. Fang argued that Bitcoin and Ethereum no longer compete directly for the same institutional capital. Instead, each network has matured into a distinct asset class in its own right.

Bitcoin as trust, Ethereum as programmable finance

In her conversation with crypto.news, Hong Fang cautioned against seeing August’s flows as a temporary flip between assets. For her, the institutional divergence speaks to a structural shift.

Crypto.news: Data from VanEck shows Bitcoin ETPs saw net outflows while Ethereum recorded strong inflows. Is this a short-term rotation, or does it reflect a deeper reassessment by institutions?

Hong Fang: Recent growth in ETH trading volumes on OKX shows that more customers now see Ethereum as the backbone of programmable finance and next-generation financial applications. Even with the ETH/BTC ratio low, the engagement with ETH is about conviction in DeFi, staking, and the expanding role of on-chain innovation.

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are foundational. Bitcoin continues to anchor value and trust in the ecosystem, while Ethereum provides the infrastructure for new financial products, programmability, and broader customer empowerment.

CN: How is this trend influencing OKX’s own product design? Have you launched or accelerated any specific Ethereum-centric services for institutions in response?

Fang: We have consistently supported Ethereum products — including ETH-margined derivatives, structured trades, and staking – which give institutional clients robust exposure and operational flexibility.

Our focus is on building foundational infrastructure, as seen with our third-party collateral mirroring program with Standard Chartered, which lets institutions use crypto and tokenized assets (including ETH and money market funds) as off-exchange collateral, securely held by a globally systemically important bank.

Instead of chasing market cycles, we invest in solutions that strengthen institutional access and security for the future, with transparent custody and capital efficiency in every product.

Beyond the cycle: transparency and institutional trust

Beyond capital flows, Fang highlighted transparency as a non-negotiable foundation for institutional adoption. Her comments coincided with OKX’s publication of its 35th proof of reserves, which verified $37.7 billion in assets and marked nearly three years of uninterrupted reporting.

CN: How do you plan to evolve proof-of-reserves reporting so that it goes beyond ratios and starts showing customer behavior insights, like shifts between self-custody and staking?

Fong: We see Proof-of-Reserves as a long-term commitment to transparency and accountability. In fact, we’re about to hit three years of publishing monthly PoR reports –  something we began before many exchanges and have continued long after the spotlight moved on. That consistency matters because it’s not about following a trend; it’s about giving customers lasting confidence that their assets are safe.

Over that time, we’ve expanded coverage to 22 top assets, introduced zk-STARK technology for privacy-preserving verification, and made verification more efficient by reducing proof file sizes. Independent reviews from respected, third-party auditors like Hacken add another layer of assurance. At the end of the day, Proof-of-Reserves is about trust. By staying consistent month after month and pushing the standard higher each year, we’ve made transparency part of our DNA.

CN: Looking into the next 12 months, what do you see as the single most defining milestone for OKX? Will it be measured by market share, regulatory approvals, or the launch of a flagship product that sets the tone for 2026 success?

Fong: Over the next year, our goal is to keep building momentum in markets where we’re already licensed – growing our teams, investing locally, and expanding our reach. We want blockchain to be genuinely useful, not just for trading but for solving tangible problems across payments, self-custody, and global asset movement.

A core part of this strategy is our move to unified USD liquidity: bringing USD, USDC, and USDG together in one seamless order book to reduce market fragmentation and provide deeper, more efficient capital markets for all users.

For OKX, success means earning trust, strengthening regulatory relationships, and building technology that lasts and delivers practical benefits. With these foundations, innovation and growth naturally follow, and that’s how we continue to set the standard for responsible growth and open access in our industry.