OKX, the world-leading cryptocurrency exchange, is proud to announce that its Global Chief Marketing Officer, Haider Rafique, has received the Most Influential CMO in Blockchain & Crypto 2022 Award at the Middle East Blockchain Awards (MEBA), which was held in Abu Dhabi on November 18 and concludes Abu Dhabi Finance Week.

Established to recognise and reward outstanding efforts within blockchain and Web 3.0 innovation, MEBA was hosted by Abu Dhabi Finance Week in association with Hoko Agency Middle East, The Middle East, Africa and Asia Crypto and Blockchain Association and Arabian Business Magazine.

Rafique was honoured with the Most Influential CMO in Blockchain & Crypto 2022 Award for his outstanding efforts in bringing OKX into the mainstream and expanding its customer base beyond Asia.

In working towards this goal, January saw Rafique undertake a complete overhaul of the OKX brand identity from OKEx to reflect the change of paradigm from a centralised exchange to a one-stop platform for CeFi, DeFi and Web3. This rebrand set the stage for the partnerships, events and campaigns that would follow:

• In February 2022, Rafique signed a multi-year deal with reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.
• In May 2022, Rafique signed another multi-year deal naming OKX the primary partner of McLaren Racing. In September 2022, McLaren and OKX unveiled a bespoke celebration livery carried on the MCL36 F1 cars at the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix and 2022 Japanese Grand Prix.
• In June 2022, OKX became the first cryptocurrency partner and sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival.
• In July 2022, hot on the heels of the Manchester City training kit reveal, OKX continued to grow its sports partnerships by teaming up with legendary English golfer Ian Poulter.

In September 2022, Rafique launched a multi-million dollar advertising campaign with the aim of ‘introducing’ OKX to the world. With less than 15% of traders outside of Asia familiar with OKX, the company introduced itself to the greater global market as one of the most powerful crypto trading apps in a series of videos featuring its partners.

The Middle East Blockchain Awards winners were chosen by a panel of prestigious expert judges, including Dr Marwan Al Zarouni, CEO of Dubai Blockchain Centre; Jehanzeb Awan, Board Member of MEAACBA, Founding Partner and CEO of J. Awan and Partners; Miriam Kiwan, Former Head of Digital Assets at ADGM, Board Member at BlackOack Global; Misha Hanin, co-founder and Futurist at Bedu; Saqr Ereiqat, Co-Founder and CCO of Crypto Oasis, and Matthew Amlot, Managing Editor of Arabian Business.