OKX Review

The information provided on this page is for educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, an endorsement of a cryptocurrency, or a recommendation to trade or use any services. We may receive compensation from our partners if you visit their website. Read our disclaimer for details.

OKX is an excellent all-around exchange with features that appeal to everyone. But how does it compare to other popular options? Throughout our OKX review, we'll take a detailed look at the exchange, discussing its features, fees, ease of use, and overall performance.

Our Take

4.4/5

HedgewithCryptoScore

Bottom line:

OKX, formally known as the OKEx exchange, is one of the world's best crypto exchanges due to its broad spectrum of innovative products and services. While OKX is about on par with exchanges like Binance and KuCoin in terms of features, OKX boasts significantly lower trading fees, making it an excellent option for those looking to maximize their profits, particularly with its world-class margin exchange. However, due to its slow customer support, those considering OKX who are looking for efficient, tailored assistance should consider another option.

Visit OKX

Trading Fees:

0.08% (maker) / 0.10% (taker)

Currency:USD, EUR, GBP, KRW, JPY, RUB, TRY, USH, CAD, AUD & 20 others

Country:Global (USA not allowed)

Promotion:

None available at this time

Pros and Cons

• Low trading fees
• Local payment methods
• Multiple trading markets
• Good Earn products

• Not available in the US
• Customer support can be slow to respond

• Low trading fees. OKX offers some of the lowest fees in the industry at just 0.08% (maker) and 0.1% (taker). As such, the exchange is ideal for active traders looking to maximize their earnings.
• Local payment methods. Due to its support for local currency payment methods via the P2P exchange, OKX is an excellent choice for international customers wishing to avoid expensive currency conversion fees.
• Multiple trading markets. Because OKX supports spot and derivatives markets, the exchange is suited to essentially every type of trader or investor, making it a solid all-around platform.
• OKX Earn. OKX's extensive suite of interest-generating products make the platform a phenomenal option for fans of passive yield generation.

• Not available in the US. Unfortunately, OKX does not offer its services in the United States due to issues with regulatory compliance. As such, crypto enthusiasts from these regions will have to select an alternative platform.
• Customer support can be slow to respond. While OKX offers an AI chatbot and a comprehensive help center, its customer support is slow to respond, which could cause problems if a time-sensitive issue occurs.

OKX Compared and Alternatives

Exchange	Crypto Assets	Trading Fees	Rating	Promotion	Website	Review
Binance	385	0.1% (spot) and 0.02% / 0.04% (Futures)	Rating 4.8/5	Up to $100 welcome bonus	Visit Binance	Binance Review
KuCoin	806	0.1%	Rating 4.6/5	Up to 500 USDT in bonuses	Visit KuCoin	KuCoin Review
MEXC Global Exchange	1521	Spot: 0% (maker) / 0.2% (taker), Futures: 0.02% (maker) / 0.06% (taker)	Rating 4.3/5	10% discount on trading fees	Visit MEXC Globa...	MEXC Global Exchange Review

OKX At A Glance

OKX is a world-leading crypto exchange serving over 20 million users in over 100 countries. The Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange has been operating since 2017. and is licensed by several authoritative bodies, including Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. However, OKX is not regulated by more prominent bodies like the FCA or AUSTRAC at the time of writing.

Review of the Top Features on OKX

OKX users have access to several innovative trading features and financial tools. As a result, the exchange is considered a leading one-stop cryptocurrency platform.

Through OKX Earn, customers can pledge their holdings to earn interest on crypto passively. Several interest-baring products are available, including:

• Simple Earn (Fixed/Flexible). Easy staking with low thresholds. Users can stake 153 cryptocurrencies with annual yields ranging from 1% APY to 318%.
• Structured Products (Fixed Terms). Fixed-term staking contracts that pay comparatively higher rewards at the cost of flexibility. Rather than passively earning yield, structured products involve speculating whether an asset will increase or decrease in value. Yields range from 0.22% to 445.49 APY but get impacted by market conditions.
• On-Chain Earn (Fixed/Flexible). A form of yield generation settled on-chain rather than by OKX. Various protocols that differ based on the staked asset are used. Yields range from 3,88% APY to 51.60% APY.

Investors can start earning interest as soon as they transfer the crypto to a staking wallet, where it will generate daily returns. OKX makes the first interest payments two days after a user pledges the assets, after which rewards are paid daily.

Full Details of USDT Simple Earn Product on OKX

When browsing the available Earn products, OKX users can view the estimated APY and contract term (fixed/flexible) to find a suitable option. Then, after clicking the ‘Subscribe’ button, the customer will be shown a screen outlying the full details, including subscription time, interest accrual time, interest payment time, minimum lending APY, and subscription amount.

We found OKX’s transparency to be refreshing, as it’s all too common for platforms to try and obscure vital details like minimum lending APY. However, OKX offers a complete FAQ list in the details section of each product, making it simple for users to understand what they’re signing up for.

OKX is an excellent platform for staking and is on par with Binance regarding its interest reward, and exceeds its ease of use thanks to OKX’s intuitive interface and dedicated ‘My Earnings’ page. However, Binance does support a more extensive range of assets. That said, OKX is a top crypto-staking platform that offers an excellent way for OKX users to boost their portfolios.

OKX users can automate their trading activities by taking advantage of the various crypto trading bots offered on the exchange. OKX's trading bots can be customized or followed via the bot marketplace and span a wide range of strategies, including:

• Spot Grid: Buys crypto within the user's specified price range where it implements the "buy low, sell high" approach. Best used in a bullish market where price fluctuations are frequent.
• Futures Grid: For USDT-margined contracts, users can select long, short, and neutral grid bots to suit specific market conditions.
• Recurring Buy: Implements the popular Dollar-Cost-Averaging (DCA) trading strategy, automatically purchasing crypto at specific intervals.
• Smart Portfolio: Automatically rebalances the user's crypto portfolio to maintain the desired proportions of individual assets.
• Arbitrage: Buys and sells assets to profit from price changes.
• Time-weighted Average Price (TWAP): Similar to recurring orders, TWAP splits trades into regular intervals to maintain an average purchase price.

OKX trading bot dashboard with available bots.

We used an OKX demo account to test the bots offered by the exchange and noticed the option to build a bot was available on the asset page, making it easy to find. In practice, it’s possible to alter upper/lower price limits, grid quantity, and leverage. Additionally, traders can select indicator-based triggers, which are rarely offered, even by platforms that specialize in automation.

Whilst OKX's trading bots are similar to those offered by other global platforms we've reviewed such as KuCoin and Pionex, the ability to choose from AI-selected parameters, manual inputs, or those determined by other users provides a far greater selection of bots than most exchanges.

The bots offered by OKX are an excellent way for customers to complement their trading in an automated fashion. With users able to view the number of people following a bot as well as its overall performance and strategy, the system instills confidence from the get-go. However, the bots' limited range of advanced features could turn away experienced traders.

Screenshot of the OKX Sushi/USDT perpetual bot settings.

While testing the exchange's copy trading feature for our OKX review, we were impressed by how well the dashboard highlights the platform's best traders. There are 1,253 leaders on OKX, who can be filtered by PnL%, PnL, win rate, and AUM, meaning it's far more active than crypto copy trading exchanges like PrimeXBT.

When deciding who to follow, users can view a Leader's PnL%, monetary PnL, trading history, asset allocation, win rate, and the current number of copy traders. As such, OKX's platform makes it easy for customers to find profitable Leaders and offers peace of mind via historical evidence.

Screenshot of the OKX leading copy trader performance.

Copy trading enables novice traders to learn successful strategies and profit from cryptocurrency without any experience. However, established traders can also register as a 'Leader' to enjoy profit sharing equal to 10% of their followers' earnings and a further 2% OKX reward, making it a great way for anyone, regardless of skill, to boost their profits.

After testing OKX's copy trading platform, we were impressed by the number of Leaders available for users to follow. However, the crown jewel of the product is the detailed breakdown of vital statistics like PnL, win rate, and trading history, as this helps to ensure that customers do not follow unsuccessful traders.

OKX offers a crypto margin exchange that can be used to borrow funds (use margin) to short on OKX with up to 5x leverage. Customers can access 30 margin trading pairs denominated in USDC. However, compared to ByBit, which provides 10x leverage and pairs denominated in USDC, USDT, BTC, and DAI, OKX's margin trading capabilities are limited.

For those looking to speculate on crypto prices without buying the underlying asset, OKX offers futures contracts marginated against USDT, USDC, and altcoins. Although OKX offers 125x leverage on its leverage exchange, which is the industry standard, only 60 pairs are available, which could make finding profitable opportunities challenging compared to exchanges with a more extensive range of instruments.

OKX lets users trade options contracts with expiry dates ranging from 24 hours to the end of the year. Crypto options trading entitles the customer to purchase a set quantity of an asset for a fixed price at a particular date, regardless of market conditions. However, due to this flexibility, a premium is charged even if the user doesn't exercise the contract.

Crypto options contracts are a relatively new product, so it's nice to see OKX offering them. However, options are only available on BTC and ETH, meaning that users looking to speculate on altcoins will need to use a platform like Bybit, which offers SOL-based options.

OKX's various derivatives trading products make it easy for traders to select one best suited to their strategy. However, due to the lackluster number of tradable assets, it will take more work to find promising opportunities when trading on OKX versus a platform like Binance.

OKX's cryptocurrency lending platform allows users to deposit crypto assets as collateral to receive other assets as a loan paid to their OKX wallet.

The benefit of using OKX to attain a crypto loan is that funds held on the exchange can be used as collateral, making it highly convenient for traders with existing holdings on the platform. Furthermore, users are not required to cash out their positions/holdings for fiat, which would cause a taxable event, meaning it’s ideal for quickly freeing up some cash without implications.

Reviewing an OKX crypto loan.

Although OKX previously offered fixed-term loans, the exchange platform now exclusively offers flexible loans, which enables users to tailor their lending to their needs better. Customers can use 109 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, as collateral, meaning customers have a great deal of customizability.

Users can obtain loans for up to 70% of the collateral's value, which is marginally better than Nexo's Loan to Value (LTV) of 50%, as customers can borrow larger amounts with lesser capital. Due to the excellent LTV ratio and wide range of collateral options, OKX is a great platform for those who want to borrow crypto without hassle.

While OKX is an accessible digital assets exchange, the company has created its Peer-to-Peer (P2P) marketplace to allow customers to buy crypto with almost 100 fiat currencies using local payment methods and bank accounts. You can buy and sell six stablecoins in addition to Bitcoin and Ethereum using the P2P marketplace, which is comparable to platforms like ByBit and Binance, which support four and seven, respectively.

No fees are charged when transacting on the OKX P2P marketplace. Local payment methods, like Barion and Banco de Credito, are also supported, making it an excellent way for international investors to boost or sell their holdings. However, P2P trading requires more technical know-how than other methods, meaning its inaccessible to beginners.

Screenshot of the current buy offers on OKX P2P Marketplace.

One of the best ways to invest in new cryptocurrencies before listing is through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), as they enable users to buy at the earliest possible stage and often for a discount. OKX has released its own project launchpad called OKX Jumpstart, which has raised over $120 billion since launching in December 2020.

Projects are only available on Jumpstart for a brief time, often a few weeks to a couple of months. However, with some posting historical returns of up to 17,000%, Jumpstart provides an intriguing way for OKX customers to invest their OKB tokens.

That said, ICO investing is an inherently high-risk activity, and OKX has only launched 13 projects, none of which have been particularly notable. Unlike the popular crypto launchpad from Binance, which has launched over 64 projects, including StepN and BitTorrent Token, Jumpstart is still in its infancy. As such, it could be worth waiting to see how its ecosystem develops before investing.

OKX enables users to effortlessly trade crypto with zero fees and no spreads using its conversion feature. The platform supports over 100 assets for conversion, which is substantially more than exchanges like KuCoin, which offers around 50.

Customers can also use the crypto swaps platform to exchange stablecoins, including USDT, GUSD, and USDP, making it easy for users to bridge funds between networks. Not many platforms offer free conversions, and with OKX’s product being easy to use due to its simple interface and its conversion preview, it’s ideal for anyone needly to swap assets quickly.

The way to convert crypto with OKX.

It's no secret that successfully trading crypto requires much practice. However, traders can accrue steep costs while sharpening their skills and developing working strategies, which can deter beginners from wanting to learn to trade.

To prevent its customers from wasting their money while learning, OKX offers all users a free crypto demo account to place trades at live market prices. This makes it possible to test strategies quickly without spending real money, which makes trading far more accessible to those without experience.

Demo traders on OKX are given around $160,500 split into several cryptos, including BTC, ETH, and OKB, making it possible to trade multiple markets without converting any assets. Furthermore, OKX demo funds can be used with its trading bots, enabling users to build bots that can be listed on the trading bot marketplace to earn additional revenue from followers.

Exchanges often offer demo accounts that use fake prices or are funded with smaller amounts (e.g., $10,000), making it challenging to accurately develop a strategy without using the live platform. Due to its high limits and live data, OKX is ideal for beginners looking to improve their skills and experienced traders aiming to build a winning strategy.

OKX offers a comprehensive Non-Fungible Token (NFT) marketplace that hosts a multitude of digital artworks and collectibles across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Avalanche C, Immutable X, BSC, and OKC.

Overview of the OKX NFT Marketplace and trending collections.

Compared to NFT marketplaces like SuperRare, which only support assets created on a single network (Ethereum), OKX offers far more collections due to its support for several networks. As such, the OKX NFT Marketplace is ideal for serious investors looking to acquire several collections on different chains, like ERC-based CryptoPunks, and BEP-based Lucky Birds.

In contrast to most NFT marketplaces, like Rarible, which charges 1% on all transactions, OKX does not charge fees other than gas. Additionally, users that buy NFTs listed on OKX, Blur, and OpenSea, through the OKX NFT marketplace earn a gas fee rebate and up to 3% of the royalty and service fees back, making OKX NFT perhaps the cheapest NFT marketplace available.

OKX has created its own cryptocurrency called OKB, which utilizes the ERC-20 architecture and boasts a fixed supply of 300 million tokens, of which around 20% is circulating. Investors and traders can utilize OKB to reap many benefits. Arguably the most significant advantage of OKB is the ability to attain reduced trading fees simply by holding it. Additionally, OKB can be staked to earn rewards or used with the OKX launchpad to invest in early-stage projects and initial coin offerings (ICOs).

Creating and Verifying an OKX Account

When initially creating an OKX account, the only required details are an email address and password. However, OKX now requires its customers to complete Know-Your-Customer (KYC) verification before depositing or withdrawing any funds.

There are two levels of KYC verification on OKX. The first enables customers to deposit/withdraw $100,000 in total and requires a few personal details like a residential address. Advanced verification lets users deposit as much as they want and withdraw $10 million daily, but requires a photo ID, selfie, proof of address, and funding information.

Supported Fiat Currency and Deposit Methods

Although OKX previously only let users deposit funds to a trading account using digital currencies, the exchange has recently implemented a system enabling users to buy crypto with fiat via the P2P marketplace or third-party services, including Banxa, Mercuryo, and Simplex.

Those looking to obtain crypto on OKX can do so via several payment methods, including credit/debit card, bank account transfer, and e-wallet (PayPal, Skrill, Revolut, etc). Furthermore, OKX supports 94 fiat currencies, including USD, GBP, EUR, and AUD, meaning the platform is highly accessible and great for new investors starting to build a portfolio.

Supported Cryptocurrencies and Trading Pairs

OKX exchange offers 344 different cryptocurrencies that users can trade on the international cryptocurrency exchange against stablecoins, Bitcoin, and Ethereum for 729 trading pairs. However, with 187 more derivative pairs on the platform, the total number of tradable instruments on OKX is 916, which is impressive and will suit altcoin traders specifically.

OKX Exchange Fees

Before deciding on a cryptocurrency trading platform, considering the fees it charges is critical, especially when trading larger position sizes with margin or making multiple trades in a single day, as any potential profits can be eaten away quickly.

OKX fees are based on a maker-and-taker model and start at 0.08% and 0.10% for users with less than 500 OKB tokens. However, the maker and taker fees on OKX can be reduced to as low as 0.06% and 0.08% for those holding over 2,000 OKB tokens within the OKX wallet. Compared to Binance and KuCoin, which settle trading fees at a rate of 0.1%, OKX's fees are highly competitive.

The maker and taker fees for the futures and perpetual markets start at 0.02% and 0.05%, respectively, similar to other popular margin trading platforms we've reviewed such as Bybit and Huobi Futures. For anyone with over $50 million in monthly trading volume, these fees can be reduced in line with their OKB token holdings.

OKX offers some of the most competitive trading fees in the industry. Below, we've included a table comparing its fee structure to 4 other popular cryptocurrency exchanges.

Although OKX offers zero deposit and withdrawal fees, a small charge is levied to cover network fees. The company utilizes a flat fee structure that varies based on the network to provide pricing stability. For example, the network fee for a Bitcoin withdrawal is 0.0005 BTC, which is typical for a crypto exchange.

OKX Ease of Use

OKX is an intuitive trading platform that offers excellent analysis capabilities and several order types designed to make it easier to manage trades. The trading interface is easy to access via the top navigation bar, which provides quick links to virtual features, ensuring that OKX users can quickly get to grips with the platform’s layout.

Like most cryptocurrency exchanges, OKX utilizes an order-book-based interface with centralized charting, enabling serious traders to view a pair’s market depth quickly. However, unlike other exchanges we’ve reviewed, OKX lets users view up to four charts simultaneously, making it an excellent option for quickly comparing multiple assets to find the best opportunities.

Screenshot of OKX multi-screen charting on our account.

OKX offers propriety charting tools and those provided by TradingView, adding to its customizability. Additionally, customers can access drawing tools and 70+ technical indicators for performing analysis.

Placing orders will feel familiar to those with experience using other exchanges that use the standard order-book interface. OKX offers six order types enabling traders to enter and exit positions precisely. Additionally, the platform supports multiple take profit/stop loss trigger orders on one position, allowing traders to enter/exit a portion of a trade automatically.

Screenshot of full screen charting on OKX.

OKX can be intimidating for newer traders because it offers many features tailored to people who frequently trade. However, products like OKX Convert and Basic Trading vastly improve accessibility. Experienced traders considering switching to OKX will find the trading experience professional, with fast order execution and responsive charts, making OKX a top trading platform.

OKX Mobile App

For customers that like to trade while on the move, OKX offers a mobile app available on iOS and Android devices. Currently rated 4.6/5 based on almost 290,000 reviews, the app has gone down well, with some users stating, it's user-friendly and packed with useful features.' However, others shared criticism, saying that trade setups were reset after minimizing the app to perform analysis elsewhere, making it difficult to use the app in conjunction with other charting tools.

After logging into the mobile version of the OKX crypto exchange, customers are presented with a dashboard showing the platform's top assets and any ongoing promotions. A hamburger menu is in the top left corner, and a navigation bar with links to key features is available at the bottom of the screen, making navigation easy even for those new to OKX.

Screenshots from the OKX app.

OKX mainly offers the same features on mobile and desktop. However, there are a few differences. For example, while key sections are named the same (e.g., Discover, Grow, Trade), the 'Build' section containing development tools is exclusively available on the web platform.

Users can easily swap between spot, margin, perpetual, copy, futures, options, and demo trading by clicking on the central 'Trade' button, making it painless to access several markets.

Additionally, OKX offers advanced charting capabilities with users able to access 13 of the best crypto indicators, including RSI, MA, and MACD. However, during our testing, we found it challenging to use the provided drawing tools accurately, as the buttons to pivot our lines were often unresponsive.

While testing the platform for our OKX review, we found the company's app to be responsive and easy to use, with all critical features available. However, due to the trade setups resetting when minimizing the app and the drawing tools being challenging to use, its analysis capabilities need to be improved.

OKX Customer Support

To ensure that customers of the OKX cryptocurrency exchange always receive excellent service and don't have to wait for a response from support, the company has created a dedicated help center that provides a way for OKX to convey any critical announcements while offering helpful articles on commonly asked questions like setting up an account.

OKX also offers an AI chatbot that can direct users to a relevant article. Additionally, users can get in touch with a support agent to get tailored assistance. However, we found it difficult to get past the bot, and with an average response time of 10 hours, those needing speedy help could be disappointed with OKX's service.

Security of Assets

Being that OKX deals with customer funds, security is paramount. Thankfully, the company understands this well and has implemented a wide range of measures designed to remove any single point of failure to protect users and OKX's infrastructure. This approach has worked well so far, as OKX has managed to avoid joining the list of exchange hacks.

To ensure that customer funds are safe, OKX holds 95% of its assets in AES-encrypted cold storage spread across 10,000 wallets, with only operationally-necessary funds held in online storage. However, OKX also utilizes a partially-offline multi-signature mechanism to add extra security to its hot wallet and prevent unauthorized transactions.

Additionally, the company has built the OKX Risk Shield, a reserve similar to Binance's SAFU fund designed to ensure that customers remain whole even if a bad actor compromises the exchange. Currently, the OKX Risk Sheild is valued at around $700 million and should ensure that the OKX platform can continuously operate without any disruptions to service.

On top of its infrastructure-based security, OKX customers can take advantage of Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and the platform's device management tools to ensure no devices can unexpectedly access a user's account. However, it would be nice to see the company offer withdrawal and IP address whitelisting, as this could help prevent phishing attacks.

OKX is a well-designed exchange that protects its users with a variety of account and infrastructure-centric measures. As such, the platform is suitable for everyone, including experienced traders looking for a highly secure trading platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

OKX is a well-designed exchange that offers features designed to appeal to all crypto enthusiasts. The platform offers excellent charting capabilities, which include multi-screen support and advanced drawing tools. Additionally, OKX's Risk Shield fund helps to insulate customers from any possible attack, substantially boosting the platform's security.

Furthermore, OKX boasts highly competitive spot trading fees that outshine exchanges like Binance and Bybit. Unfortunately, however, OKX's customer support team is slow to respond, and the platform is unavailable in the US, meaning it's less accessible than its competitors. As such, OKX is best suited to internal investors looking for a low-fee trading platform.

Related articles

Updated Nov 9th, 2023

Crypto.com Review

Updated Nov 10th, 2023

Kraken Review

Updated May 26th, 2023

MEXC Review

Updated Oct 26th, 2023

CoinOne Review