What is OKX?

OKX is a cryptocurrency exchange that offers a suite of services to buy, sell, trade, stake, earn and borrow crypto. According to CoinMarketCap, it is among the largest crypto exchanges worldwide, with an average trading volume of $1.25 billion.

The platform offers basic and advanced financial services to accommodate newbie and veteran crypto investors. 

OKX have also introduced a “Learn” section that teaches users the proper ways to use its products and services. This academy offers general blockchain knowledge, daily market analyses, trading strategies, and tutorials.

Users can access OKX through its web and mobile applications. OKX’s mobile app is fully compatible with Android and iOS, meaning that anyone with a smartphone can easily download it to get started.

OKX Company Overview

In 2017, Star Xu started the OKX exchange with a remarkable portfolio of investors, including Longling Capital, VentureLab, and Ceyuan Ventures. Since its launch, the Seychelles-based company has grown impressively and has extended its services to over 200 jurisdictions apart from the USA.  

The platform was initially known as OKEx because it only portrayed itself as a crypto exchange. However, they rebranded to OKX in January 2022 to accommodate its new image and offerings such as passive income earning, NFT marketplace, and DeFi services.

OKX claims to have over 20 million users worldwide, although limited operational capacity in the US due to regulatory issues. Users in areas where the platform operates freely can enjoy spot trading in over 300 currencies, coupled with margin trading, staking, savings, crypto loans, and other advanced features.

Does OKX have it’s own token?

The OKX platform has a native token, OKB, launched in 2018 as a utility token used for processing transactions on the platform. This token also allows holders to access the platform’s special benefits and participate in network governance.

Users can receive up to a 40% discount on transactions, depending on the amount of OKB they hold. Plus, OKB holders can invest their assets in OKX Earn to receive passive income.

OKX adopts a token burn mechanism to add value to OKB, making the digital asset more appealing to holders. This occurs every three months, and the coin burn is recorded on the platform’s official website. OKX uses 30% of its commission fee income to support this procedure.

As of writing, the token is trading at $11.34, which is about 70% below its all-time high.

OKX Exchange Review: Pros and Cons

Like every other exchange, OKX has various advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a look at the ones peculiar to it.  

OKX Advantages

• Wide range of offerings

OKX has extensive product offerings ranging from a crypto exchange that supports over 250 currencies to its NFT marketplace, DeFi, passive earning, and crypto loan services. Traders can also access professional charts and P2P trading. 

• Extensive educational materials

The OKX website provides several beginner tutorials and videos to explain dozens of concepts to help users get started on the platform. Users can locate these materials in the "Learn" section. OKX also offers industry analysis and trade ideas to give users more insight into trading.

• High-interest staking opportunities

OKX offers high APRs to users who stake their cryptocurrencies in the platform. Users can earn more than 100% yield depending on the cryptocurrency and duration.

OKX Disadvantages

• Limited features for US residents 

OKX is not available to US residents due to regulatory issues. However, US investors may access a simpler sister platform, OKCoin, although the platform does not have the complete range of services available on OKX.

• Low liquidity for some currencies

Some cryptocurrencies on OKX trade with a low liquidity level, even though the platform ranks among the top 20 crypto exchanges globally.  

• High merchant fees

Users who deposit or withdraw fiat currency from OKX are subject to third-party fees. These fees are undisclosed on the platform and can be high.

OKX Supported Cryptocurrencies

OKX supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies on its platform, exceeding 300. So, there’s a good chance that users can find their preferred tokens on the platform. 

Here is a list of the most popular cryptocurrencies available on OKX: 

• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• Cardano
• Tether
• Tron
• Avalanche
• Bitcoin Cash
• Solana
• Polygon
• Ripple
• Yearn.finance
• Dogecoin
• Polkadot
• Terra
• Shiba Inu

OKX Fees

OKX categorizes fees into various pricing levels based on account holdings and trade volume. 

The maximum commission for spot trades is 0.10%. Discounts may be available to large OKB holders and high-volume traders. On the other hand, futures and swaps have their specific fee schedules.

One significant thing to note about OKX fees is that the platform does not disclose fees for deposits and withdrawals. Such hidden costs may not be ideal for customers because they may give room for manipulation. 

OKX Deposit Methods

OKX encourages flexibility by offering users an array of deposit options. Listed below are the deposit options that users can explore: 

• Cryptocurrency transfer
• Bank transfer
• Alipay
• WeChat Pay

OKX Trading Services

OKX provides a variety of trading tools and services to serve all levels of traders. They include:

• Spot trading: This is a trading tool or popular investment method that allows traders to buy and sell coins on OKX at real-time prices to make profits. Spot trading is often the first trading tool most crypto investors encounter as it offers a way to start investing with ease. 
• Futures: OKX traders can also access futures trading, where they can buy or sell derivatives contracts. This is a trading tool for traders looking to further capitalize on price movements. 
• Options: OKX offers another type of derivative contract that allows users to purchase or sell a specific asset at a predetermined price on or before a specified expiry date.  
• Margin: This trading tool allows eligible traders to trade cryptocurrencies on borrowed funds. Here, users borrow funds from OKX to enable them to take trades larger than their existing capital.
• Stop orders: OKX has a stop order feature that allows traders to limit their trading losses. It is set at a price lower than the current market price such that in the event of an unfavorable price movement, the platform closes a trade automatically.  
• Staking: Users can also stake their crypto on OKX to earn high yields. Each staking account has its own APY, depending on the chosen period. 
• Wallet: OKX has a digital wallet that operates as a separate application. Users can access multiple vaults and digital assets through the app, which links seamlessly with the main platform. 
• Crypto loans: OKX allows users to access flexible loans through traditional DeFi lenders like Aave and Compound. The loan’s interest rates will vary depending on the platform and token of choice.
• Crypto mining pools: As the odds of solving a puzzle and validating transactions in a proof-of-work network continue to reduce, OKX offers a way for miners to pull their resources together to increase their chances. There are 11 pools available to choose from, and rewards will be split among group members when a pool solves a block.  

OKX Security

OKX follows all the necessary security measures to secure users’ funds. While users only need an email and password to sign up to OKX, additional activities like deposits and withdrawals will require extra details.

The platform supports two-factor authentication, which users must enable to withdraw funds or change their account settings. It also supports SMS codes for withdrawal and anti-phishing codes with emails from the platform.

OKX Customer Satisfaction

OKX is a peculiar exchange in terms of usage and trading volume.  

In our recent analyses of the best crypto exchanges, OKX didn’t break into the top-performing exchanges by market presence.  

They had lower visitors than some of the other major exchanges.  

However, despite this they ranked second in terms of overall trade volume.  

The lack of a US presence is likely why they don’t rank higher for engagement. However, even with a potentially smaller user base they’re outperforming many other brands by trading volume.  

This tells us that the users OKX does attract must really enjoy using the platform. 

In short, the users they do attract trade with higher volumes than more “well-known” exchanges.