OKX Exchange
OKX
Data verified on unchanged since the sources
Worth it if you want the most regulated exchange in Europe, with MiCA, MiFID II and monthly proof-of-reserves.
Avoid it if you’re a US retail user (excluded) or the 2025 DOJ fine is a dealbreaker.
OKX is among the most regulated exchanges in Europe, holding MiCA, MiFID II and PI licences, with over 350 spot assets and monthly Proof of Reserves. Its limitations are unavailability to US retail and its regulatory record: in February 2025 subsidiary Aux Cayes pleaded guilty in a US DOJ settlement (~$505M in penalties and forfeiture for operating as an unlicensed money transmitter), against a now compliance-first stance.
Data & conditions
| Maker / Taker fee | 0.08% / 0.1% |
|---|---|
| Markets | Spot + Derivatives |
| Max leverage | 100× |
| Supported assets | 350+ |
| Fiat on-ramp | Yes |
| Staking / Earn | OKX Earn: flexible savings, fixed terms, dual investment, Snowball. ETH staking, liquid staking. APY stablecoins 4-6% (flessibile), asset major 3-7%. Restaking EigenLayer Q2 2026. |
| Fund custody | Custodial (platform holds funds) |
| KYC | Full |
| Supported countries | EEA, APAC, LATAM, MENA · 60+ countries |
| Regulator | VARA, MAS, ASIC, FinCEN, EU MiCA |
| OAM Italy registration | Yes |
| Segment | B2C |
| MiCA / License status | VASP + MiCA |
Plans & pricing
Strengths
- Most regulated exchange in the EU: MiCA + MiFID II + PI; 350+ spot; monthly PoR.
- No notable sovereignty advantage documented.
Weaknesses
- Not available for retail USA; fine DOJ 2025.
- Custodial: the platform holds your funds and can freeze or lose them.
- Full KYC required: verified identity, zero pseudonymity.
Verdict
The high rating rewards one of the strongest regulatory profiles in Europe: MiCA, MiFID II and PI licences, 350+ spot assets, monthly Proof of Reserves and 0.10% fees. What holds the score back is the record — the February 2025 US DOJ settlement (~$505M for operating as an unlicensed money transmitter) — plus unavailability to US retail: the stance today is compliance-first, but the past must be priced in.
The dense web of licences, a strength on protection, on this lens signals the opposite: custodial, full KYC, a privacy score of 3, with funds and identity fully intermediated. Monthly Proof of Reserves adds transparency but not self-custody, and the heavy AML history shows how embedded the service is in the regulatory system, not resistant to it.
Promp's editorial rating based on real fees and net annual cost. Promp reviews third-party products independently.
"Sovereignty" rating: score computed on privacy/anonymity (30%), fund control (20%), censorship resistance (20%), trustless/auditability (20%) and costs (10%). Same data, different weights.
Reputation
What happened to people who used OKX Exchange, and what users say. External signals: they do not feed the promp.it rating.
Incidents & regulatory actions
Past incidents, resolvedDocumented and closed events. They stay on file: an operator’s past is data, not a verdict.
-
Fine Severe $504M ✓ resolved
US criminal conviction: Aux Cayes FinTech, the company operating OKX, pleads guilty to running an unlicensed money transmitting business and pays over $504 million
On 24 February 2025 Aux Cayes Fintech Co. Ltd, the Seychelles-based company operating OKX, pleaded guilty before the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, agreeing to penalties totalling more than $504 million ($420.3 million criminal forfeiture and roughly $84.4 million fine). From the court documents and admissions: since 2017 OKX had an official policy barring US persons from its exchange, yet actively sought them out; between 2018 and at least early 2024 it served US customers who transacted over one trillion dollars, generating hundreds of millions in fees. Until November 2022 a retail user could open an account, receive and transfer funds and trade without completing any identity verification; the block on US IP addresses could be bypassed with a VPN, and until early 2024 customers could trade through intermediaries that disclosed no identifying information to OKX. In at least two documented episodes (April 2023 and January 2024) an employee advised prospective US customers how to supply false information to get past verification. Prosecutors put the suspicious transactions and criminal proceeds that moved through the platform at over $5 billion. The company agreed to retain an external compliance consultant through February 2027. The filing explicitly names the derivatives products too, futures contracts included.
↗ source -
Withdrawals halted Severe ✓ resolved
Withdrawals suspended for five weeks: one of the private-key holders was unreachable while cooperating with a Chinese police investigation
On 16 October 2020 OKEx (now OKX) suspended all cryptocurrency withdrawals, stating that one of its private-key holders was out of reach while cooperating with an investigation by the Chinese authorities. The holder was Mingxing 'Star' Xu, founder of OKCoin and CEO of OK Group. Deposits and trading stayed live, but for five weeks no user could move funds out. On 19 November 2020 the exchange announced the reopening, declaring 100% reserves and that all balances were fully withdrawable; withdrawals resumed on 26 November 2020. No user funds were lost and this was not a hack: the point is the custody architecture, which had made access to funds dependent on one individual being reachable.
↗ source
verified on
Public reviews
-
App Store ↗
4.6/5
22,367 reviews
Official 'OKX: Buy Bitcoin BTC & Crypto' app (OKX Inc.), exact figure from the iTunes lookup API (US store).
Weighted average across 1 public review platform (22,367 reviews in total), weighted by volume. This is not our rating: it is those platforms’ average.
FAQ
What are OKX Exchange's fees?
On OKX Exchange, spot fees are maker 0.08% / taker 0.1%. They drop with monthly volume and VIP tier.
Is OKX Exchange regulated in Europe?
OKX Exchange is MiCA-compliant. It is listed in the Italian OAM register. Licence: VASP + MiCA.
Does OKX Exchange publish Proof of Reserves?
OKX Exchange publishes Proof of Reserves. No third-party reserve audit is documented. Reserve transparency is a critical factor after the FTX collapse.
Can I send transfers to third-party IBANs from OKX Exchange?
No, OKX Exchange is an exchange and does not allow transfers to third-party IBANs: fiat withdrawals return to a bank account in your own name.
Does OKX Exchange support derivatives and futures?
OKX Exchange offers derivatives trading, with up to 100x leverage.
Sources
- Official service page Maker/taker fees · Regulatory framework · Derivatives · Founders · +11 Data verified on Jun 13, 2026
- justice.gov Legal name Data verified on Jul 10, 2026
- architectpartners.com Latest funding round Data verified on Jun 15, 2026
- coindesk.com Valuation Data verified on Jun 15, 2026
Show 2 more sources
- en.wikipedia.org Company type · Corporate site · Stock ticker · Stock listing · +1 Data verified on Jun 15, 2026
- ir.theice.com Investors Data verified on Jun 15, 2026
Update history
🔔 Notify me of changes
If you sign up from here we earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It doesn’t change the rating: we tell you so you can check us.