Okcoin Review 2023

Okcoin was launched in 2013 in China by Star Xu. Its operations pulled out of China, its largest market, in 2017 after several crackdowns on cryptocurrency, and is now based out of San Francisco, while Xu works out of Hong Kong. They claim over 100,000 active trader accounts.

Okcoin offers advanced trading and unique DeFi integrated features like:

• Access to DeFi staking protocols in app without gas fees or commissions

• Advanced trading orders like iceberg orders, limit orders, stop orders, market orders, trigger orders, and trail orders

• The ability to transfer crypto off platform to an external wallet address including on Avalanche and Polygon networks

• Traders can trade over the counter without slippage, combining the best of both decentralized and centralized exchanges

• Extremely low fees and the easiest account setup process on the market.

Okcoin Overview

Pros and Cons of Using Okcoin

Okcoin Cryptocurrencies and Trading Options

What Cryptocurrencies Can You Trade on Okcoin?

One of the major drawbacks of Okcoin for the average crypto trader is the limited number of coins listed, and the limited trading pairs.

There are currently around 40 coins listed on the platform including major coins like:

• Bitcoin

• Bitcoin Cash

• Ethereum

• Litecoin

• Tether

At this time almost all trading pairs are in USD, some in EUR, and a few major coins with trading pairs in USDT, BTC, or STX. This is to provide more liquidity between takers and makers because their electronic trading platform makes use of a broker dealer network. To translate – on Okcoin trading is essentially buying from and selling to their partners with fiat currency.

Different Trading Options Offered by Okcoin

You can only purchase real cryptocurrency on Okcoin. They do not offer other markets like futures, options, or CFDs.

Prices for crypto are quoted as spot prices on Okcoin. You can execute market trades to trade at market price asap. There isn’t any information about how they determine market price in their broker dealer marketplace on their site. However you can always check the price by asking for a quote in the trade tab. Quotes are free and are updated every 10 seconds.

Can I Trade With Leverage on Okcoin?

Okcoin does offer trading with leverage. To take leverage you have to first buy crypto at spot price in your trade account, and then transfer the crypto to your margin account to access the peer to peer lending network. You must keep a 10% margin, meaning you can borrow up to 10x leverage. You have to pay interest on the borrowed crypto.

Leverage is not available in the US, Europe, or Singapore, due to crypto regulations.

Leverage multiplies your profits and losses and increases the risk by the amount of leverage you take. If the price drops low enough that the difference in price is equal to the margin you have invested, your position will be liquidated. In the event it drops below the liquidation price, there is an insurance fund to cover the difference.

Lenders pay into the insurance fund by taking insurance against defaults, which costs 10% of interest earned.

What Are the Spreads?

There are not spreads in the same sense as there are when buying instruments off broker sites. Okcoin doesn’t set a standardized difference between the buy and sell price and the market price.

Instead, because they have a broker dealer network, the price the trades are executed at depends on the type of orders available between the taker and maker. For example if you set a buy order at a limit, and that limit is slightly higher than the market price, your order may be filled at any price between. There is no information on their site about if they take a spread between maker and taker prices.

Fees, Limits, and Payment Options on Okcoin

What Are the Deposit and Withdrawal Fees, Limits, and Speeds?

The payment methods you can use to deposit and withdraw are different, and depend on which country you are based in. In general Okcoin supports fewer payment methods than most other exchanges.

Their fees depend on your payment method and transaction volume. Generally they have very low fees among exchanges, comparable to Binance.

Deposit Methods

Deposit methods vary by country.

US customers:

• Domestic ACH from linked bank account – Free with no minimum

• Silvergate ACH – Free with $25 minimum

• Debit cards – 3.99% fee with 10 EUR minimum

EU customers:

• Credit and debit cards – 3.99% with 10 USD/ EUR minimum

• Trustpay SEPA – 0.20 EUR + 0.3% with 1 EUR

• Finductive SEPA – 4 EUR with 5001 EUR minimum

• Signature Bank International Wire – Free with no minimum

• Etana – Free with 1 EUR minimum

Alternative payment methods available in other geographies:

• Far Eastern and Royal International Wire Transfers

• Pix

• TED

There is conflicting information on their site about deposit minimums, with $100 quoted in one article. From experience, the minimums above are correct.

The time it takes for the deposit to become available varies. In general debit and credit card deposits are available instantly, and other payment methods take between 1- 2 or 1- 5 business days. Silvergate ACH is also available instantly for US customers.

Depending on your country’s regulations you have to verify for different deposit amounts. For example, US and Canadian customers can only deposit $500 before they have to verify their identity, while other geographies can fund up to $2500 before they have to verify their identity.

You can also fund your account for free with lightning transfers of up to 0.1 BTC.

Withdrawal Methods

You can withdraw with all the same methods as you use to deposit, except for debit and credit cards and Silvergate ACH. The fees are similar, and those which are free to deposit are free to withdraw. Processing times are similar but may be longer.

Withdrawal limits are the same as deposit limits. It is possible you will have to verify your account to withdraw money if you didn’t when you deposited. For example if you are from the US and deposit less than $500 but you make a profit and your account balance is greater than $500 you will have to verify your identity to make the withdrawal.

As with deposits, you can withdraw up to 0.1 BTC free with the lightning network. You can also transfer to other accounts, transfer crypto to an external wallet on-chain, or transfer using the AVAX and Polygon protocols.

How Much Are Okcoin’s Fees and Commissions?

Besides deposit and withdrawal fees, Okcoin also charges maker and taker fees. These start from 0.1% for takers, and 0.2% for makers. They decrease as the transaction volume increases, with maker fees as low as 0% and taker fees as low as 0.02%.

If you link a bank account or use lightning transfers for depositing and withdrawing, and you have a high order volume, Okcoin is an extremely cheap exchange.

Okcoin Trade Sizes and Limits

Minimum order size is 10 USD/EUR. There is no maximum order size, but they ask that traders or organizations with very large orders contact them. Also over the counter trading can be conducted off their books. The minimum order size for OTC trades is $10,000.

Okcoin Trading Platform

On What Devices Can I Use Okcoin?

You can use Okcoin on both computers and smartphones through the following:

• Website: Their web platform has responsive design for both mobile and desktop. This is their original product, which includes the dashboard, price list where you can buy crypto, trade desk for advanced trading, and earn page where you can stake in defi protocols. You can also transfer crypto to wallets from the assets menu.

• Mobile app: They recently released a mobile app, available on both the Apple Store and Google Play. It has all the same functions as the website version.

Can I Use Okcoin in Any Country?

Okcoin is available in 192 countries. Exclusions include countries under US sanctions such as Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria, as well as a few other countries like Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Bolivia, and Ecuador.

Some US states are not able to use some functions of the platform.

Most of their users are in China and countries in Asia. However, they have stopped trading in CYN and during Chinese tech crackdowns have halted operations in the past.

Crypto is not legal in some countries so you should check your local regulations before creating an account on any exchange.

Is Okcoin Available in My Language?

The only languages available in profile preferences are:

• English

• Chinese

• Portuguese

• Spanish

How Easy Is It to Use Okcoin?

The basic functions of the platform are extremely easy to navigate. They claim the least clicks of any crypto exchange. If you want to buy and sell crypto at market prices, just go to the price page and click “buy/sell” next to the coin you want. The layout is clean, and the help center has articles to explain each of the features.

If you are an advanced or institutional trader, you can use the trade tab to set up all kinds of trades. The mobile app is almost indistinguishable from the website version.

Key Features

Okcoin has a few features that make it stand out:

Trade Desk

In the trade desk you can monitor charts, get quotes, and place orders with advanced controls.

Earn

In the earn tab you can purchase and start staking defi protocols like STX, AVAX, and MATIC for up to 20% APY.

Recurring Buys

You can set up recurring buys of any cryptocurrency to dollar cost average automatically.

Security and Regulation

Is Okcoin Safe?

Okcoin uses 2FA for logins and withdrawals, and encryption to protect your account and crypto holdings on the platform. They also log you out of your account automatically after a period of inactivity.

Am I and My Cryptocurrency Protected?

Yes, Okcoin is registered in every state.

Is Okcoin Regulated?

They are not regulated under any federal regulatory agency, but they are registered as money transmitters in the US, Malta, and the Netherlands along with a number of other countries. They are not registered to trade coin for coin in all jurisdictions.

Do I Have to Verify My Account With Okcoin?

You only have to KYC verify if you deposit or withdraw more than the limit for your country. In the US you have to prove your identity to deposit $500, in Europe over $2500. There are also KYC levels 2 and 3 to increase your deposit and withdrawal limits further.

Extra Information

Educational Resources

The platform has no educational resources to speak of, other than an FAQ, new releases, and tutorials on how to use the features. You can click on the “about” in the trade view under a coin and it will give you a short blurb about the coin, some statistics, and a link to their website.

Tools and Charting

Charts are supported by TradingView. In the trade tab, when you click “chart” under any given coin, it will expand to fullscreen where you can access all the technical tools and indicators provided by TradingView, such as manipulating the timeline, candlestick charts, MA, MACD, TRIX, BOLL, Stochastic RSI, etc.

Customer Support

At the time of writing Okcoin only offers customer support through a chatbot platform, or email at support@okcoin.com where they offer 24/7 support. It takes them more than a few hours to respond.

How to Buy and Sell Cryptocurrency on Okcoin

How to Buy Crypto on Okcoin

Setting up an account and getting started on Okcoin is extremely easy and they claim to have the simplest sign up process.

Step 1: Visit OKcoin's Official Site & Sign Up

Go to Okcoin.com and click “Sign Up”. Enter your email and a password or sign up with Google SOS or Telegram. They will ask you to verify your identity at this point with an ID, but you don’t have to if you deposit less than the limit for your jurisdiction. For example if you want to deposit $499 in the US you can skip this step for now.

Step 2: Set the Amount You Want to Buy

Click “Buy Crypto” at the top of the page. Select the crypto you want to buy and specify the amount.

Step 3: Select Payment Method

After you click “Review Order” you will see the link to add a payment method. If you want to pay instantly you should use a debit card, but you will be charged a 3.99% fee. If you don’t want to pay the fee you should link it to your bank account, which may take a few days.

Step 4: Browse "Dashboard" Tab

After you execute the order, the balance of your selected coin will be reflected in your “Dashboard” tab. To verify your identity at any point, just go to the profile icon and click “Identity Verification”.

How to Sell Crypto on Okcoin

To sell, just go to the “Prices” tab, find the coin you hold, and click “Sell”. Specify the amount you want to sell and execute the trade.

Is there an alternative to Okcoin?

Yes, there are many more ways to trade cryptocurrencies. Check out some of our reviews for the best brokers:

	Name	Score	Visit	Disclaimer
	1eToro	8.7	Visitetoro.com					Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
	2Plus500 CFD Broker	9.8	Visitplus500.com					82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
	3Pepperstone	9.0	Visitpepperstone.com					Between 74-89 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Final Thoughts

Okcoin is a great exchange for beginner traders, advanced traders, and institutions. The process to buy your first crypto is as painless as possible for total novices. At the same time advanced traders can stake to earn, and make use of many order types. Institutional investors and market markers can also profit from the platform’s large order sizes and iceberg orders if they want to cloak their trades. The extremely low fees are a major selling point.

Okcoin is lacking in terms of trading pairs and cryptocurrencies supported, but they are always listing new cryptocurrencies.

If you want more educational resources for beginners you should consider a platform like Coinbase or eToro instead, but those with decent crypto knowledge will be satisfied with the integrated TradingView charts.