OKEx (OKX) Exchange Review 2023

Choosing the best crypto exchanges requires you to sift multiple exchanges based on their supported crypto coins, trading fees, deposit/withdrawal fees, availability in your region, trading platforms & charting tools offered, security features, and more.

OKEx crypto is one of the top crypto exchanges out there, allowing crypto enthusiasts in more than 200+ countries to dabble in crypto.

The big question: is OKEx safe?

To help you make an informed decision, this OKEx exchange review digs into OKEx top features, trading fees, OKEx coins, trading platforms, and other crypto services offered.

What is OKX?

OKEx is a one-stop cryptocurrency platform based in Seychelles. It was founded in 2014 and aims to better the future of crypto and become the world’s most powerful exchange.

In that spirit, the platform changed its brand name from OKEx to OKX as it moves from just being a crypto exchange to a decentralized crypto hub that enables users to easily and securely learn, earn, trade, transfer, and spend their crypto wealth without intermediation.

The platform boasts over 20 million users in 200+ countries and an impressive list of crypto services, including the OKEx exchange to buy and trade crypto, flexible crypto loans, crypto staking with high APY, on-ramp into mining pools, and crypto resources to learn about cryptocurrency and blockchain.

OKEx also offers multiple trading interfaces with simple and advanced tools to accommodate newbies, advanced traders, and institutions.

There’s also the OKEx app which enables users to trade and monitor their crypto portfolio on the go.

Users can trade 300+ crypto coins and tokens on OKEx, with over 30+ fiat currencies supported.

If you open an OKEx account, complete KYC verification, and trade $100 on your first order, you get up to a sign-up bonus.

OKEx Features at a Glance

• OKEx coins: Trade 300+ cryptocurrencies. Over 30+ fiat currencies supported
• A one-stop crypto hub: You can explore DeFi, DApps, GameFi, and NFTs
• OKEx app: Android and iOS OKEx app to buy, sell, trade, and monitor your crypto portfolio on the go.
• Trading platforms: Multiple trading platforms, including OKEx Express, P2P trade, Convert, Basic Trading,  and Margin Trading where you can access OkEx futures & options, perpetual swaps, and leverage trading.
• OKex DeFi services: Stake and earn a high yield on your crypto holdings and borrow crypto-backed low-interest loans.
• OKEx Learn: Access tutorials, research, and market analysis to learn about cryptocurrency and blockchain.
• Widely present: OKEx is available in 200+ countries, with more than 20 million users.
• OKEx mining pools: Join safe, stable, and transparent PoW and DeFi liquidity mining pools to earn more rewards.
• OKEx referral program:  Get your OKEx referral link and refer friends to OKEx to earn a bonus when they make a deposit or buy crypto.
• P2P trading: Buy and sell crypto directly from other OKX users with multiple payment methods.

How does OKX Work?

OKX is accessible via its web-based platform or the OKEx app. To get started, you’ll first need to create an account and deposit fiat or crypto to start trading on the platform.

You can sign up with your phone number, email address, or sign up with Google or Telegram.

You’re not required to complete OKEx KYC verification to deposit or trade crypto on OKX, but when buying crypto with fiat currencies or making daily crypto withdrawals of 10 BTC and above, you must complete OKEx KYC verification.

Unverified accounts have a daily withdrawal limit of 10 BTC.

OKEx offers 3 verification levels namely:

• Level 1: This is the most basic. Simply enter your name, nationality, and identification document number. You get a daily withdrawal limit of 200 BTC and a P2P transaction limit of $500.

• Level 2: This requires you to verify your identity with a photo ID and perform a facial verification via Netverify. You get a daily withdrawal limit of $500, and a P2P transaction limit of $10,000.

• Level 3: Once you pass the first two, you’re required to read and accept OKX’s disclaimer. You get a daily withdrawal limit of $500 BTC and a P2P transaction limit of $100,000.

It takes only about 10 minutes to get your documents reviewed, but the process may take longer when there’s a high volume of OKEx KYC requests.

Once your account is verified, you can fund your OKEx wallet with crypto or fiat via any of the supported deposit methods, including bank transfer, PayPal, SEPA, POLi, iDEAL, Faster Payments (FPS), or crypto deposits.

Then browse the wide selection of OKEx coins and start trading right away.

Related: Best Crypto Wallets in Canada.

Crypto Assets on OKX

OKEx supports 300+ cryptocurrencies, and users can convert more than 30 fiat currencies into crypto at no extra fees. Thus, it’s a great platform to trade both popular and little-known cryptocurrencies, altcoins, and stablecoins.

Top OKEx coins include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Solana, Avalanche, Terra, Dogecoin, Polygon, Chainlink, Near Protocol, Stellar, Uniswap, Axie Infinity, Decentraland, The Sandbox, Monero, Gala many others.

OKEx also has its own native crypto coin, OKB, which is used to offer discounted trading fees on the platform and can be traded on OKEx and other top crypto exchanges.

OKEx Fees

OKEx offers a tiered maker-taker fee schedule. Regular users are tiered into 5 levels based on their OKB holdings and 30-day trading volume, while VIP users are tiered into 8 levels based on their asset balance and 30-day trading volume.

Maker fees for regular users start at 0.08% and decrease to 0.06%, while taker fees are slightly higher, starting at 0.1% to 0.08%.

VIP maker fees start at 0.025% and decrease to -0.025%, while taker fees start at 0.06% and decrease to 0.03%.

Both VIP and regular fees are also different for futures, options, and perpetual swaps transactions.

OKEx withdrawal/deposit fees vary based on the funding method used. Crypto deposits are free, but you’ll pay an OKEx withdrawal fee that varies by coin.

OKEx Staking

OKEx allows you to stake and earn interest on your crypto holdings via OKEx Earn.

You can stake with 100+ coins and earn between 1% to over 200% APY on your crypto stake, depending on the coin staked and holding period.

You can choose between Dual Investment, Savings, Flash Deals, and Staking accounts. Each of these earning options comes with different levels of risks, earning potential, and flexible/fixed holding requirements.

OKEx Mining Pool

If you want to try your hand at crypto mining to earn passive income, OKEx is a great place to be.

The platform offers about 5 proof-of-work mining pools, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin,  DCR, and BTG, allowing you to participate in crypto mining and earn rewards.

Once a block is solved, rewards are distributed among the pool members based on their stake or computing power each has contributed to the pool.

OKEx DeFi

OKEx allows you to discover and explore the decentralized world with MetaX, a smart wallet that is compatible with 15+ blockchains and supports over 1000+ DeFi protocols.  

You can explore over 1000+ DApps with a single click, create and trade NFTs, swap crypto on DEXs, and explore GameFi.

OKEx Crypto Loans

You don’t have to liquidate your crypto assets prematurely if you need cash quickly.

OKEx allows you to borrow flexible, fixed, and active crypto loans with over 120 digital assets. Simply deposit collateral and borrow up to 65% of your collateral, and once you repay the loan, you get back your collateral.

OKEx trading platforms

OKEx offers both basic and advanced trading platforms to meet the needs of both advanced and seasoned traders. They include:

• OKEx Express: This allows you to buy crypto quickly with fiat currency.
• OKEX convert: Convert one digital asset to another with a simple conversion form at no extra fees.
• P2P trade: This allows you to buy and sell crypto directly from other OKX users with multiple payment methods.
• Basic Trading:  Allows Spot and simple options trading
• Margin trading: Offers advanced tools and leverage for margin trading, perpetual swaps, and OKEx futures and options trading.
• OKEx app: Available in Android and iOS to allow you to trade and manage your crypto wallet on the go.

OKX Referral Code Bonus

If you sign up for an OKEx account using an OKEx invite code and trade $100 in crypto, you get a $10 sign-up bonus.

And once you are in, you can take advantage of the OKEx referral program to earn more rewards. Simply generate your OKEX referral link from your dashboard and share it with your friends.

You get $15 for any of your friends who sign up via your OKEx invite code and complete KYC verification, make a deposit, and trade crypto.

Pros and Cons of OKX

Pros

• Offers a wide crypto selection and many crypto and DeFi services
• Multiple trading platforms to meet the trading needs of different users
• Many learning resources to hone your crypto and blockchain knowledge
• Hight staking rewards on your crypto holdings and a mining pool for on-ramp PoW mining
• Offers flexible crypto loans
• OKEx trading fees are among the lowest in the crypto space.
• No OKEx KYC verification to deposit and trade crypto

Cons

• A Complex multi-tiered fee structure that varies for Spot, OKEx futures, options, and perpetual swaps transactions.
• Not available to US residents.

Is OKEx Safe?

Like any other crypto platform, OKX does its best to keep your private keys secure and your custodial wallet protected. Top security features include:

• 2 Factor authentication
• Semi-offline multi-signature services
• Mobile verification codes for withdrawal or changing security settings/password
• Anti-phishing codes to avert email phishing attacks

However, no exchange is 100% hacker-proof, so make sure you transfer most of your crypto assets to a non-custodial wallet or lock them offline in cold storage with a hardware wallet.

OKEx vs Binance

OKEx and Binance are top cryptocurrency platforms that offer some of the most competitive trading fees in the crypto space.

It’s hard to say which platform has the lowest fees, as both use a maker-taker fee structure, and their fees are almost comparable.

They both have an impressive list of crypto services and offer multiple trading platforms to newbies and seasoned traders.

However, Binance remains the largest crypto exchange in the world and offers more crypto coins and more crypto services than OKEx.

Learn more in this Binance Canada review.

OKEx vs. Coinbase

OKEx offers 300+ crypto coins, while Coinbase offers around 150+ cryptocurrencies. Trading fees are quite high on Coinbase, starting at 0.5%, while OKEx fees start at 0.1%.

Coinbase doesn’t offer derivatives, while OKEx offers crypto futures and options derivatives.

Learn more in this Coinbase review.

OKEx vs Crypto.com

OKEx offers more cryptocurrencies, up to 300+, while Crypto.com offers about 138 crypto coins. Trading fees on Crypto.com are up to 0.4%, which is high compared to OKX’s 0.1% taker fees.

Also, Cyrpto.com doesn’t offer derivatives, which OKEx offers.

Learn more in this Crypto.com review.

Best Crypto Exchange in Canada

CoinSmart is the top crypto exchange in Canada. You get a $50 bonus when you deposit $200 or more.

OKX Exchange Review FAQ

Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency is a volatile and speculative investment. If you decide to invest, we recommend you do your own research and only commit funds you can afford to lose. The author may own one or more of the crypto assets mentioned in this article.