About OKX
OKX launched in 2013 as OKCoin, rebranded to OKEx in 2017, and took its current name, OKX, in January 2022 — making it one of the longest continuously operating exchanges in the industry, having survived multiple full market cycles. It's consistently ranked among the top three to five exchanges worldwide by trading volume, though we can't independently confirm an exact daily figure or exact coin/country counts from public sources — treat any specific number you see elsewhere with some caution and check OKX's own site directly.
The exchange's history spans several jurisdictions: it exited mainland China in October 2021, and as of a 2025 relaunch cites San Jose, California as a U.S. hub, alongside its longer-standing Hong Kong ties. That's a genuinely more fragmented regulatory footprint than a single-jurisdiction competitor, worth knowing going in even though it isn't a red flag on its own.
Fees
OKX charges a standard spot trading fee of 0.08% maker / 0.10% taker at the base tier, in line with the industry's more competitive exchanges. As with most large exchanges, fees typically decrease at higher trading-volume tiers or when holding the platform's native token.
Regulatory history
OKX agreed to a $500 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, which — now resolved — cleared the way for its April 2025 relaunch of U.S. operations. Separately, in late 2020 the exchange paused withdrawals for roughly a month while its founder cooperated with a Chinese police investigation; withdrawals resumed and user funds were unaffected. Both are historical, resolved matters rather than active warnings, but they're part of the exchange's real regulatory track record and worth knowing.
Leveraged trading risk
In July 2018, a large trader's forced liquidation on OKX triggered a socialized loss event — the exchange injected roughly 2,500 BTC (about $18 million at the time) into its insurance fund and applied a 17% clawback fee to other traders' profits to cover the shortfall. This wasn't a hack or breach of OKX's own systems; it was a consequence of how leveraged/margin positions get unwound in a fast-moving market. It's a real risk-management event worth knowing about if you plan to trade with leverage on any exchange, OKX included, rather than a security concern.
OKX Details
- Maker/taker fees: 0.08% / 0.10% (base tier)
- Founded: 2013 (as OKCoin)
- Security incident history: No documented hack or breach of user funds
- U.S. access: Available again since April 2025, following a resolved 2024 DOJ settlement