OKX Review: Should Aussies Use This Platform?

Last Updated on December 24, 2023 by Kevin Groves

OKX is a popular crypto exchange that is often in the top 15 cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world for trading volume. In this review, we cover what OKX features are available to Australian investors and traders, assess its fee structure, weigh up the benefits and limitations, and have a look at how secure it is.

OKX Pros Explained

• Crypto staking: OKX supports the staking of 80 crypto assets on flexible terms and interest yields up to 72%.
• Modern mobile app:
• Integrated TradingView charting: The charting package is sublimely laid out amongst a streamlined interface where all the tools traders need to aptly analyse the price action of crypto are at your fingertips.
• Excellent demo account: The demo account comes equipped with >$100k USD virtual funds to trade across its spot, margin, derivatives, and trading bots.

OKX Cons Explained

Quick Overview

Here is a quick summary of OKX.

Exchange Name	OKX (formerly known as OKEx)
Supported Countries	Global (including Australia)
Fiat Currencies Supported	50+ including AUD and USD
Deposit Methods	Credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, crypto transfer
Supported Cryptocurrencies	355
Interest-earning Wallets	Yes (up to 365% APY)
Deposit Fees	1.99% for credit card
Trading Fees	Spot: 0.08% (maker) and 0.10% (taker) Futures: 0.02% (maker) and 0.05% (taker)
Withdrawal Fees	None
Mobile App	Yes (Android, iOS)

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Here’s Our Thoughts on OKX’s Top Features

Has a wide range of markets & supported coins

OKX is a serious contender for being a viable altcoin investing and trading destination with its impressive list of 350 digital currencies. All the major assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) can be bought in Australian Dollars (AUD) and United States Dollars (USD), as well as many others including Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Litecoin (LTC), and Tether (USDT).

The number of trading markets is equally impressive at 777 (at the time of writing) considering that only Binance, Huobi Global, and KuCoin have more markets in the top 15 crypto exchanges in the world.

You can copy other traders

OKX offers a relatively easy-to-use and robust copy trading module where you can copy the crypto moves made by experienced traders. At first glance, the interface is not as appealing compared to the CopyTrader feature offered by eToro Australia but it does have some nice benefits. OKX currently has 972 crypto portfolios that are available to incorporate into your own strategy. All the standard sorting options are available but there is no ability to filter portfolios.

Once you select a trader to copy, you can access their Profit and Loss performance, their number of trades, and the number of followers. However, the advantage over other copy trading platforms is that you can see a breakdown of the crypto assets that are preferred by the trader which gives valuable insight.

Swap crypto for free

One of OKX’s more convenient features is the ability to instantly exchange one crypto for another crypto. There are no fees and no slippage for coin-to-coin trades. Since you can swap any one of OKX’s 355 supported assets as well as stablecoins USDT, USDC, GUS, DAI, USDP, and TUSD, this feature is a cheap way of managing your altcoin portfolio.

Lots of crypto staking options

OKX is one of the few crypto exchanges that provide an abundance of crypto staking options, both in terms of the number of coins supported but also the terms. At the time of writing, you can stake any of OKX 80 supported crypto assets to earn passive rewards up to 72% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) which makes OKX one of the better exchanges to stake crypto.

The vast majority of coins that can be staked come with several term options ranging from Flexible to 120 days, with the latter providing the best Returns on Investment (ROI). As long as you have the crypto assets in your OKX wallet, then staking them can be completed in a matter of minutes. If you don’t, then the staking panel allows you to purchase them beforehand.

The OKB token gives discounts on fees

OKB is OKX’s utility token that was issued by the OK Blockchain Foundation. It has a total supply of 1 billion, but OKX regularly burns tokens to reduce its supply. The overarching purpose of the OKB token was to increase operational efficiencies and reduce transaction barriers. Buying and holding OKB yields several benefits including reducing trading fees by up to 40%, earning additional interest pay-outs with OKX Earn, as well as giving you the ability to participate in airdrops.

Selection of trading bots (a little limited)

One of the distinguishing features of OKX is its trading bot marketplace. In addition to providing a range of pre-built bots such as DCA, grid, arbitrage, and slicing bots, you can also create your own or copy an existing bot from the marketplace. Existing trading bots to choose from can be sorted according to their Profit & Loss, level of drawdown, and run time, making OKX one of the better exchanges to use crypto bots.

A free demo account

The OKX crypto demo account is free and can be applied to most of OKX’s trading markets such as spot, derivatives, margin, and trading bots. For example, if you see a spot grid bot and wanted to test it out on the demo account then clicking it will automatically take you to the spot trading interface where the parameters of the bot will be inserted. Alternatively, you can experiment risk-free by manually adjusting them.

One thing we noticed was that the demo account came stocked with a diverse portfolio of several cryptocurrencies such as USDT, BTC, OKB, UNI, and USDC. As seen in the image below, the value of the pre-existing portfolio was approximately USD $167k, which was more than virtual funds to get started. This nice addition, plus the range of markets that demo trading can be applied to, makes OKX one of the better places to practice placing orders.

Do We Think OKX Is Safe?

Yes, OKX appears to implement security features that you would expect from a top-tier crypto exchange. The digital framework maintained by OKX is audited by third parties to ensure the safety of private and crypto storage. All private keys and mnemonics are stored on your device and are not uploaded to the exchange or any external server. Moreover, the exchange has demonstrated it holds Proof of Reserves at a 1:1 ratio. In addition, OKX implements standard account-level security features such as 2FA and mobile verification for all withdrawals.

So, Has OKX Ever Been Hacked?

Based on our research, OKX has not been hacked. However, there was an incident in August 2017 where a user reported the loss of approximately 200 Bitcoins (worth about USD$750,000 at the time). Although other users made similar claims with a net loss of approximately $3 million, OKX attributed the events to a lack of security on the users’ part. On 2 October 2017, OKX CEO Lennix Lai confirmed on Twitter that the exchange was not hacked.

We Tried OKX and This Is What We Observed

Buying crypto is a breeze

Like most other global crypto exchanges, OKX provides you with multiple ways of obtaining crypto with cash to satisfy those who prefer convenience and choice. Using your credit or debit card to buy crypto will result in their instant transfer to your trade wallet. For the more experienced, the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) marketplace (more on that later) will provide you with an abundance of crypto to buy with your preferred fiat currency, noting that there will be multiple payment methods to choose from.

Cryptocurrency trading at its best

For a global crypto exchange with an entire ecosystem of crypto trading products and features, OKX is surprisingly easy to get your head around. The main navigation bar at the top of the website is more functional and clear than most other crypto exchanges where looking for a particular feature may be more troublesome.

Unlike the trading interfaces of other crypto exchanges, OKX tucks the available trading pairs under a drop-down menu rather than having them take up valuable space. In addition, using the “Manual trading / Trading bot” button in the top left-hand corner will switch the buying panel to a panel where you can create or select a trading bot to implement. This feature is delivered extremely well and places OKX above other trading bot platforms especially since your price analysis and drawings will be retained.

The TradingView charts take centre stage and where traders have access to all the analytical tools and indicators they need. various order types are available to give you a level of risk control including limit, market, stop, trailing stop, trigger, and advanced limit.

Overall, the user interface is very well laid out and organised where key functions including deposits, withdrawals and transfers are easily identifiable. OKX has done a particularly good job of integrating the trading interfaces with its Web3 wallet, crypto trading bots, and demo account that can be toggled with a few clicks.

What Are The Account Funding and Limits?

OKX supports various deposit and withdrawal methods, including bank transfers, cryptocurrency, credit cards, PayPal, and Google Pay. If you prefer making fiat deposits, you’ll have to verify your identity by providing proof of ID, official name, and country of residence. Most of these deposit methods are instant, which allows new users to fund their accounts and start trading immediately.

Fees & Charges Explained

Crypto transfers

Depositing cryptocurrencies into the OKX as well as withdrawing them to an external wallet will not incur any OKX fees. Instead, a mandatory network fee will apply every time you withdraw cryptocurrencies. The fee will be minor and depends on the coin, network congestion, and the complexity of the transaction. For instance, all BTC withdrawals will incur a 0.0005 BTC charge, noting that this is not paid to OKX and compensates the miners for facilitating the withdrawal.

Buying crypto with fiat

If you decide to purchase digital currencies using your credit or debit card, then be prepared for the 1.99% fee. This may seem a bit high, but it’s actually quite competitive since credit card fees can range between 2% and 4% depending on the exchange (and excluding any fees by your credit card provider).

Trading fees

The spot trading fee structure is based on a maker-and-taker model and ranges between 0.1% – 0.15% if your OKB holding is less than 500. For perpetual and futures markets, the fee is between 0.02% and 0.05% per trade.

The Customer Support Is Average

The customer support structures at OKX are fairly comprehensive, and you can interact with them through phone, social media sites, some messaging apps, and email. This exchange site also has an extensive FAQ section that handles the most common issues. There have been several complaints of a slow response rate, especially on email, but you can also contact them faster on their live chat feature.

What Could OKX Improve on?

OKX is a great trading platform that accommodates both entry-level and professional investors. They have a simplistic interface that beginners can easily navigate and advanced trading tools which expert traders would appreciate.

It also has impressive safety protocols and a wide range of digital assets that allow crypto traders to diversify their portfolios. OKX, however, has slow customer support, especially on emails, and there have been complaints that some queries don’t even get replies. All factors considered this site is reliable.

Here’s Our Final Verdict

OKX is a reliable crypto exchange platform and was one of the earliest platforms. This exchange site has invested in strict security measures to ensure your funds are safe and has multiple trading pairs for you to choose from. OKX also accepts the most popular transaction methods and has a simple trading dashboard and advanced trading tools for professional traders.

Their fees are competitive compared to other Australian exchange sites, and they offer leverage trading. The only sector that could use an upgrade is the customer support department, which is slow (especially on email), but for faster responses, you could reach them via call or the live support feature on their site.