Cryptocurrency exchange OKX, which was just valued at $25 billion after a strategic investment from New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) parent Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), is launching a social network integrated directly into its trading app, the latest example of social networks and digital asset platforms converging as traders increasingly rely on online communities for market signals.
The feature, called Orbit, allows users to post market comments, stream live discussions and create trading groups, while also displaying verified performance metrics such as portfolio returns, profits and losses and win rates, OKX said on Thursday. The company said the feature is designed to help users distinguish credible business information from hype or manipulated social media posts.
Orbit will launch gradually starting February 26 for a limited group of users before expanding more widely once its beta testing phase concludes.
The launch comes as social interaction plays an increasing role in the crypto markets. Many traders now gather insights from online platforms where screenshots, posts and comments from influencers can quickly shape sentiment around assets like bitcoin. or ether (ETH).
“People who use our app will have a native social channel where ideas are shared with posts, live streams and group chats,” Haider Rafique, managing partner at OKX, said in a statement.
Several platforms have begun to combine commerce with social media features. StockTwits, for example, is a stock-focused social platform where traders share ideas using symbols like $AAPL or $TSLA to create real-time conversations about the markets. In crypto, newer networks like Farcaster had emerged as decentralized alternatives, operating as Ethereum-based social protocols designed to function as native blockchain versions of platforms like X.
“This is quite popular in stock trading,” Rafique said. “We want to offer similar features and give traders a place where they can share their performance and interpretation of the markets.”
OKX said Orbit aims to add accountability to social trading by allowing users who choose to share metrics to verify them directly within the trading app. The platform also supports market-specific discussions using cash tags such as $BTC, $ETH, and $SOL and allows traders to create public and closed communities.
The move comes during a period of company expansion. OKX has just received a strategic investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the global trading giant that owns the New York Stock Exchange. The deal valued the San Jose, California-based company at about $25 billion.
As part of that partnership, OKX plans to introduce tokenized stocks and crypto futures products, signaling deeper integration between traditional financial markets and digital asset platforms.
