Jeff Ren, founder at OKX Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2025 Powerlist.

“I moved into crypto investing and founded OKX Ventures because I recognised that most traditional investors were either dismissing blockchain entirely or approaching it with the wrong mental models,” says Jeff Ren. “They were missing what made this technology truly revolutionary.”

Established in 2021, OKX Ventures is the corporate VC arm of OKX, one of the largest crypto exchanges by trading volume globally. The unit has become one of the most prolific investors in cryptocurrency and Web3 startups. “[We] bring professional investment discipline to the space, while still appreciating the unique dynamics of crypto markets and communities,” says Ren.

OKX Ventures has a team of 20, executing direct startup investments, backing funds as anchor LPs and internal incubation. “This structure maximises our impact across the ecosystem, while maintaining flexibility. It allows us to simultaneously support the broader blockchain community, while strategically advancing technologies that complement our platform. The direct investments give us hands-on relationships with founders, the fund investments extend our reach and the incubation work lets us shape projects from inception,” says Ren.

“We are particularly proud of our work enhancing Bitcoin’s utility through layer-2 solutions – bringing it back to Satoshi’s original vision of peer-to-peer digital payments, while adding new capabilities.”

OKX Ventures committed more than $100m across 60 projects and funds in 2024, many of which supported innovation within Solana, Sui, Aptos and TON ecosystems.

“We are particularly proud of our work enhancing Bitcoin’s utility through layer-2 solutions – bringing it back to Satoshi’s original vision of peer-to-peer digital payments, while adding new capabilities,” says Ren.

OKX Ventures’ investment strategy over the coming year focuses on five key areas that Ren believes will drive the next wave of blockchain innovation: real-world asset tokenisation; Bitcoin layer-2 solutions; strategic partnerships with top-tier Layer 1 ecosystems; stablecoins; and Web3 AI startups.

Ren says OKX remains focused on a proven strategy. “We evaluate each opportunity through the lens of meaningful partnership – not just providing capital, but asking how our wallet infrastructure can help founders succeed. This creates mutual value that outlasts market cycles,” he says.


The Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.

These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.

See the full 2025 Powerlist here.