OKX Review

Our verdict: in our view, OKX is a strong choice for active traders who want low spot fees and futures and options on its global platform. US residents trade with OKX US, managed by OKX INC., a distinct company with its own terms and fee schedule. OKX has been in operation since at least 2017, as stated by the US Department of Justice.

For US customers, the entry tier costs 0.20% for maker orders and 0.35% for taker orders, which is less than half of Kraken Pro's 0.80% taker fee. On OKX's global site and in the EEA, the same tier costs 0.08% and 0.10%. OKX's public market data includes 304 crypto assets.

OKX suits you if:

• you trade spot in the US and want lower entry-tier fees than Kraken Pro or Coinbase Advanced.
• you live in the EEA and seek an exchange authorized under MiCA that also provides futures and options.
• you want a monthly proof-of-reserves report.

OKX may not be ideal if:

• you place significant importance on a provider's regulatory record, which we address under Regulation and regulatory actions below.
• you reside in Canada or Japan, locations listed as restricted by OKX.

We rate OKX equally high for beginner friendliness and for functions and scope. For a first purchase, Coinbase is the alternative we rate higher for beginners. US traders needing margin or futures can consider Kraken.

Is OKX safe?

In our view, OKX is one of the safer large exchanges regarding custody, but its regulatory history is a drawback. OKX says it keeps most assets in offline cold wallets, requires multiple signatures for transactions, and publishes a monthly proof-of-reserves report from its own zk-STARK check, though no external auditor is mentioned.

In the EEA, OKX Europe Limited is authorized under MiCA by Malta's MFSA. US residents use OKX US, which is operated by OKX INC. under its own terms. OKX US is registered with FinCEN as a money services business, lists state money transmitter licenses, and offers two-factor authentication via an authenticator app.

On February 24, 2025, Aux Cayes FinTech, the Seychelles company behind OKX's global platform, pleaded guilty in federal court in New York to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and agreed to a forfeiture and a fine totaling more than $504 million. On April 1, 2025, Malta's Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit imposed an administrative penalty of €1,054,269 on OKCoin Europe Limited, now OKX Europe Limited, for breaches related to anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing. OKX US balances lack FDIC or SIPC protection, so we think long-term holdings are better off in a wallet you control.

OKX fees

OKX charges a percentage for each spot trade, and at the entry level, US residents pay more than customers in the EEA or on its global site.

• OKX US, entry tier: 0.20% maker and 0.35% taker on spot trades.
• EEA and OKX's global site, entry tier: 0.08% maker and 0.10% taker on spot trades.
• Stablecoin pairs on OKX US: 0% maker and taker on USDC-USDT and PYUSD-USDT.
• Bitcoin withdrawals on OKX US, in the EEA and on the global site: a network fee that varies, shown on OKX's withdrawal page.

Below is a worked example of what a $1,000 bitcoin purchase costs on OKX US.

OKX at a glance

• Global operator: Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd., registered in Seychelles
• US operator: OKX INC., a Delaware company formerly known as OKCoin USA, NMLS 1767779
• EEA operator: OKX Europe Limited in Malta, authorized under MiCA by the MFSA
• Founded: operating since at least 2017. Status: active
• US availability: yes, via OKX US. The next section lists the excluded areas
• Spot fees, entry tier: 0.20% maker and 0.35% taker on OKX US. 0.08% maker and 0.10% taker on the global site and in the EEA
• Futures in the EEA, entry tier: 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker. Options 0.03% maker and taker
• Crypto assets: 304 across all OKX platforms, counted without tokenized stocks; spot pairs: 1,143 in all, tokenized stocks included
• BTC withdrawal fee: varies, the Bitcoin network fee OKX shows on its withdrawal page. Minimum withdrawal 0.0001 BTC
• Proof of reserves: monthly report

OKX in the US

US residents do not sign up with the global OKX platform, as OKX's terms assign them to OKX INC., a Delaware company operating under the OKX brand. OKX US does not serve residents of New York, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the US Virgin Islands. Its license page excludes no other state, Washington, DC, or Puerto Rico.

OKX US is registered with FinCEN as a money services business, listing money transmitter licenses in 43 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. Its licenses in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia do not cover virtual currency. It possesses a money transmission license from the Texas Department of Banking for token-to-token and USD-to-token trades.

Differences for US customers include:

• Spot trading only. The US terms describe a platform for spot trading, and the US fee schedule lists no futures or options.
• Funding by wire, ACH, or debit card. Money deposited by ACH, and crypto purchased with it, may be held from withdrawal for up to 10 business days or longer, depending on your risk profile.
• Identity verification with your Social Security number before you can trade, deposit or withdraw; OKX says it reviews applications within 24 hours.
• On-chain Earn staking, with a service fee of 1% to 5% of the rewards, but not available in California, Maryland, New Jersey, or Wisconsin.
• In Massachusetts, you may withdraw crypto only to a wallet located in the US.

To compare OKX with other exchanges accepting US residents, see our list of exchanges for US customers.

What OKX costs: a worked example

Suppose you reside in a state OKX US serves and buy $1,000 of bitcoin with dollars, then transfer it to your own wallet:

• Fund the account by ACH, wire, or debit card.
• Buy with a market order: the 0.35% taker fee is $3.50.
• Or, place a limit order that waits on the order book: the 0.20% maker fee is $2.00.
• Withdraw the bitcoin, paying the network fee OKX displays on its withdrawal page, which fluctuates with network load.

The same $1,000 market buy costs $8.00 at Kraken Pro's entry tier of 0.80%, and $9.00 at Coinbase Advanced's 0.90% for US customers. Fees decrease as your assets or trading volume grow: VIP 1 on OKX US costs 0.10% maker and 0.20% taker, while the top tier, VIP 9, receives a maker rebate of 0.005% and pays 0.015% taker.

Outside the US, the entry tier is more affordable: 0.08% maker and 0.10% taker in the EEA and on OKX's global site.

OKX outside the US

On its global platform, managed by Aux Cayes FinTech in Seychelles, OKX lists perpetual swaps with up to 100x leverage, expiry futures with up to 50x, margin trading with up to 10x, and options on bitcoin. Local OKX companies serve the EEA, Australia, the UAE, Singapore, Brazil, and other markets.

In the EEA, OKX Europe Limited in Malta has been authorized as a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA since January 27, 2025, and the authorization is passported to the other 29 EEA states. Another OKX company, OKX Europe Markets Limited, a Maltese investment firm, provides expiry futures there, and EEA residents can pay by SEPA transfer or card.

Regulation and regulatory actions

On February 24, 2025, Aux Cayes FinTech, which does business as OKX, pleaded guilty in federal court in New York to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. According to the Justice Department, OKX served US customers from about 2018 until at least early 2024. It agreed to forfeit $420.3 million and pay a fine of about $84.4 million, more than $504 million in total, and to keep a compliance consultant through February 2027. The Justice Department states that the conduct was solely that of Aux Cayes.

In Malta, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit imposed an administrative penalty of €1,054,269 on April 1, 2025, on OKCoin Europe Limited, the former name of OKX Europe Limited, for anti-money-laundering failings found in an examination in April 2023.

In our view, both actions focus on licensing and anti-money-laundering controls rather than customer fund losses, and should be considered alongside the licenses mentioned above.

Security and proof of reserves

OKX reports keeping most assets offline in cold wallets, requiring multiple transaction signatures, and conducting several risk checks for each withdrawal. OKX US supports two-factor authentication through an authenticator app. Customer cash at OKX US is held in segregated custodial accounts at licensed third-party banks, in trust for users. The US terms specify that balances have no FDIC or SIPC protection.

OKX publishes a proof-of-reserves report every month, based on its own zk-STARK verification; the report page names no outside auditor. In its 47th report, reserves covered 109% of customer BTC, 101% of ETH and 105% of USDT. OKX says the report covers all customer and corporate digital assets held globally by OKX entities; it does not list OKX US separately.

Alternatives to OKX

For a first purchase or for New York, Coinbase accepts residents from every US state, listing more than 400 crypto assets, with Coinbase Advanced's higher US entry tier of 0.50% maker and 0.90% taker. We rate it higher than OKX for beginner friendliness. See our Coinbase review.

For margin or futures in the US, Kraken offers spot margin to eligible US clients and futures through Kraken Derivatives US, lists more than 600 crypto assets, and publishes proof-of-reserves snapshots. Kraken does not serve New York or Maine, and Kraken Pro's entry tier costs 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker. See our Kraken review or our Kraken vs OKX comparison.

For an order book in New York, Bitstamp USA holds a New York BitLicense and charges 0.30% maker and 0.40% taker at the entry tier, but offers no staking or derivatives to US customers. See our Bitstamp review.

Discover more platforms with our list of exchanges for day trading and our crypto exchange fee table.

FAQ

Is OKX available in the US?

Yes, OKX US, operated by OKX INC., serves every state except New York, in addition to Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. OKX's terms direct US residents to OKX US instead of the global platform.

Is OKEx the same as OKX?

Yes. In its 2025 press release, the US Justice Department describes Aux Cayes FinTech as doing business as both "OKEx" and "OKX".

How we checked this review

For this review we read OKX's fee schedules for the US, the EEA and its global site, its terms, license page and proof-of-reserves page, the European register of crypto-asset service providers, the Justice Department's 2025 press release, the 2025 notice of Malta's Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, the GLEIF record of OKX Europe Limited and the alternatives' own pages. The Updated date shows when we last brought these facts up to date.