Analysis of OKX Pay’s Non-Custodial Stablecoin Payment Solution

OKX Pay’s Technological Innovation: Balancing Autonomy and Usability

On April 28, 2025, OKX officially launched its non-custodial payment tool, OKX Pay, marking a new stage in the crypto payment sector. This product directly addresses longstanding industry pain points: traditional self-custody wallets require users to manage their private keys, which are difficult and risky to handle; while centralized payment platforms offer convenience at the cost of user fund control.

OKX Pay achieves a breakthrough with Passkey Sharding technology—splitting the user’s private key into two parts: one locally stored with biometric encryption, and one held by the platform. This ensures asset autonomy while offering a PayPal-like easy recovery process.
Technically, it relies on the X Layer blockchain (a Polygon CDK-based ZK Rollup network) to achieve zero-fee USDT/USDC transfers and real-time settlement. Compared to traditional cross-border payment tools, OKX Pay allows users to send and receive unlimited amounts globally, while also supporting on-chain staking for 3%-5% annualized yields. This integrated “payment + wealth management” model is drawing large numbers of Web2 users into Web3.

Market Impact: From Edge Experiment to Mainstream Financial Infrastructure

The launch of OKX Pay immediately shook the market: X Layer’s on-chain transaction volume surged 270%, and TVL (Total Value Locked) exceeded $120 million. This revealed two major trends:

1. Acceleration of Stablecoin Payment Compliance: Through partnerships with Mastercard and Stripe, OKX plans to extend its payment services to physical POS terminals, allowing users to spend stablecoins at millions of merchants.

2. Conversion of Traditional Financial Users: According to OKX, 42% of new users in the first week had never used a crypto wallet before but were familiar with PayPal/Venmo-like operations, proving that simplified UX significantly lowers Web3 adoption barriers.

It’s worth noting that OKX Pay’s zero-fee strategy could reshape the industry’s competitive landscape. Traditional cross-border remittances charge around 5%-7%, while crypto exchanges usually charge 0.1%-0.5% in transaction fees. OKX compresses Gas costs via X Layer’s ZK Rollup technology and subsidizes users through stablecoin liquidity pools. If this model sustains, it may force competitors to adjust their pricing strategies.

Risks and Challenges: Dual Test of Technical Security and Regulatory Compliance

Despite OKX Pay’s enormous potential, the following risks must be noted:

Technical Vulnerability Risks

The Passkey Sharding solution has not yet undergone large-scale attack testing. If the biometric encryption layer is breached, it could lead to systemic asset loss. In May 2025, white-hat hackers discovered two medium-level vulnerabilities on the testnet, and OKX promised to fix them before the mainnet upgrade in Q3.

Regulatory Uncertainty

OKX’s parent company was fined $504 million in March 2025 for violating U.S. AML regulations, putting its payment business under stricter scrutiny. The EU’s MiCA framework requires stablecoin issuers to hold full fiat reserves, potentially limiting USDT/USDC circulation in European markets.

For everyday users, it’s recommended to use the JuCoin asset monitoring dashboard to track X Layer on-chain assets in real time and diversify holdings to mitigate single-protocol risks. Also note: OKX Pay is not available in jurisdictions such as China and Russia, so users should verify local compliance requirements before cross-border use.

Future Outlook: Evolution of Web3 Payments and User Strategies

OKX CEO Star revealed plans to launch a physical OKX financial card in Q3 2025, allowing users to spend stablecoins directly at offline merchants. If realized, this could bring the following changes:

1. Diversified Payment Scenarios: Integration of an AI risk control system to intercept suspicious transactions in real time and dynamically adjust staking yields to balance capital utilization.

2. Expansion of Developer Ecosystem: Opening X Layer’s payment API, allowing third-party dApps to integrate OKX Pay modules—e.g., e-commerce platforms can embed crypto payment functions with one click.

Depending on user types, different strategies can be adopted:

• Traders: Use the zero-fee feature for high-frequency rebalancing and optimize asset allocation with cross-chain swap tools.
• Long-term Holders: Stake stablecoins via OKX Pay for passive income and participate in X Layer ecosystem governance to receive airdrop rewards.
• Developers: Build compliant payment solutions on X Layer or optimize on-chain transaction routing algorithms to reduce Gas consumption.

As crypto payments evolve from experimental tech to essential infrastructure, OKX Pay’s success or failure could define the standard interaction model for next-generation finance.