The cash will come from the exchange's $100 million OKEx BlockDream Ventures fund, which invests in blockchain projects.
Traders in China appear to be more concerned about the future of Huobi and OKEx.
Despite a crackdown on crypto mining, Chinese authorities are still bullish on blockchain technology.
The move comes as officials in mainland China have upped the pressure on crypto mining and trading.
The global derivatives giant improves from fifth place earlier this week. Binance ranks first.
The stablecoin's price in dollars surged during the recent market correction to the highest since the "Black Thursday" sell-off in March 2020.
Users on Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Huobi ECO Chain or OKEx Chain would be able to convert digital assets on one of these networks to an identical asset on a different chain.
OKEx is the seventh major exchange to add the scaling solution.
Coinbase is known for its expensive trading fees yet it's still not listing doge, one of the most traded tokens.
Exchange executives worldwide say the direct listing could spur adoption and acceptance of crypto.
The funds will pay developers and projects building on the Solana ecosystem.
The company told CoinDesk that even though ICOs and fiat-to-crypto trading are not allowed in China, crypto-to-crypto trading is not banned.
An exchange spokesperson said the new anti-money laundering regime would make it too tough to continue operating.
Chinese social media app Weibo suspended the official accounts of four major crypto exchanges: Huobi, Binance, OKEx and MXC.
Bitcoin analysts say this week's quick market rebound might be due to Chinese retail buyers buying the dip, using the stablecoin tether.