OKX's X Layer Launches Exchange OS for Custom Crypto Markets

OKX’s Layer 2 blockchain X Layer unveiled the Exchange OS upgrade, which allows operators to build their own trading venues on its unified infrastructure.
Exchange OS moves core exchange functions, such as matching, margining, liquidation, and settlement, to the protocol layer.

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X Layer, OKX's EVM-compatible Layer 2 blockchain, launched Exchange OS, a new upgrade that allows users to deploy their own crypto markets.

According to the official announcement from X Layer, the upgrade enables developers, institutions, and ecosystem participants to create spot, perpetual, and outcome markets with the same infrastructure stack powering OKX.

"Exchange OS is designed to address one of the biggest structural limitations in on-chain finance today: fragmented infrastructure," the team wrote. "Builders still face the same tradeoff — rely on centralized infrastructure or rebuild complex exchange systems from scratch."

X Layer said it aims to solve this dilemma by creating a shared market infrastructure that provides a shared environment offering flexibility around design, structure, risk controls, and compliance.

Exchange OS does this by moving core exchange functions, such as matching, margining, liquidation, settlement, and risk management, to the protocol layer. Users will be able to configure their own models in a permissionless manner through the X Layer Improvement Proposal for Exchange OS (XIP-Exchange OS).

Traders can also benefit from having a unified account and margin system across spot, perpetuals, and outcome markets on Exchange OS, the announcement said.

"A single market view — whether around AI, macro events, sports, or tokenized assets — can be expressed across multiple market structures using the same pool of capital," the team said.

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World Cup markets

To commemorate the release of Exchange OS, X Layer said it will launch the first venue on top of the upgrade next month.

"In June, we will launch 2026 World Cup Outcomes, a simulated outcome market deployed directly on the infrastructure," the X Layer team said. "We wanted to build on the system ourselves before opening it more broadly because the best way to demonstrate open market infrastructure is to use it in production first."

The 2026 World Cup Outcomes is a simulated prediction market venue likely geared towards the 23rd FIFA World Cup jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. The tournaments launch on June 11.

The platform is currently rolling out in stages, with a broader launch planned over time through the XIP-Exchange OS.

"The next chapter of onchain finance should not be built by a single platform — it should be built by anyone with a market worth creating," the team added.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

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Danny Park is an East Asia reporter at The Block writing on topics including Web3 developments and crypto regulations in the region. He was formerly a reporter at Forkast.News, where he actively covered the downfall of Terra-Luna and FTX. Based in Seoul, Danny has previously produced written and video content for media companies in Korea, Hong Kong and China. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism and Business Marketing from the University of Hong Kong.

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