OKex History
OKEx is a cryptocurrency exchange that offers fiat –to- crypto and crypto –to –crypto trading options. The platform is a branch of OKCoin.com, an exchange based in China by Star Xu. OKCoin stopped futures trading in 2017 and OKEx took over offering this service.
The API for futures trading was implemented in June 2017. The relationship between the two mirrors that of former GDAX (now Coinbase Pro) and Coinbase, one platform being aimed at catering to retail customers, while the other one is dedicated to experienced traders.
The company was founded in 2014 in China, but like Binance, it also moved its business to the island-nation of Malta.
Trading Platform
OKEx is among the few crypto-exchanges that offer traders a separate desktop platform. In addition to this, the OKEx platform allows multiple-monitor support. This allows you to duplicate the entire layout multiple times and put it on another monitor.
The interface is professionally designed and features a variety of trading options that will be appreciated by experienced traders, but for beginners, it can be quite overwhelming.
The OKCoin proprietary system offers charting which is a lot better than many other solutions. The order book and tape are situated on the right side of the page.
Crypto Trading
The main service of any exchange is their crypto-to-crypto options. OKEx offers support for a variety of tokens and coins, in four main trade pairings – BTC, ETH, BCH, and USDT. The “Favorites” section allows users to keep track of the tokens they’re interested in.
The design is yet again simple but comprehensive. A tabbed box features the option to make buys and sells, along with the relevant pricing and volume details beneath it. A chart is displayed on the right side of the main trading screen showing recent bids and asks.
Fiat to Token
OKEx offers a relatively rare C2C trading system, which functions much like an over-the-counter trading service. Individual OKEx users can perform traders amongst them, setting their own prices in a safe and supervised environment. Withdrawals are also available in the C2C marketplace, which is featured under the main header’s “Fiat to Token” inventory.
When accessing the Fiat to Token screen, a list of supported currencies will be displayed on the left, along with a price chart and the to Buy or Sell at set prices options is positioned on the right.
Above the prices, there is the option to choose between Verified Traders or Individual Traders.
Futures Trading
OKEx requires all potential futures traders to read and consent to its proprietary user agreement. This is because of the relative complexity and high risk of the cryptocurrency by-product market. Using leverage can result in big gains and big losses in a short period, and OKEx wants to make sure its users understand what they will be getting involved in.
For futures trading, OKEx supports eight cryptos: BTC, LTC, ETH, ETC, BCH, XRP, EOS, and BTG.
Fees
The fees at OKEx are among the lowest that can be found on the market. A 0.03% fee is charged for opening a new position and for closing transaction nothing is charged. Compared to the average of around 0.20-0.25%, offered by most other exchanges, this is a quite reasonable price. Instead, the forex brokers, who offer Bitcoin trading include their fees only in the spread.
Methods of Payment
Being directly linked to OKCoin, OKEx allows its users to make a CNY transfer to the former and trade on the more advanced exchange. The platform also accepts cryptocurrency transfers in BTC, ETH, and LTC.
OKEx Security
OKEx offers a two-factor authorization mechanism which can be set up during account registration, and OKEx provides detailed instructions on how to change the administrator passwords but no other details regarding its internal security are given. Taking into account the exchange’s constant updates specifying which countries are currently banned from the exchange, this is quite surprising.
In October 2017, some OKEx accounts were hacked. The exchange stated that the accounts were compromised because the victims fell prey to phishing attempts, and it was not due to a fault in OKEx’s security system.
The platform cites improperly kept and set passwords, personal computers infected with malware or users logging into public computers, and “…other platforms got security problems and a user set same personal password for OKEx and other platforms” as being responsible for the breaches.
OKB Token
OKB is the native token of the exchange and it acts as an incentive on the OKB platform while the company improves its blockchain. The token has a total supply of 1 billion – 70 percent of this amount being locked up – and the company dispenses 50 percent of its service fees resulted in a week each Friday to OKB owners. The actual sum distributed is based on a user’s OKB volume.
OKB enables OKEx traders to have access to certain privileges, such as service fee rebates, similar to how Binance uses BNB.
“OKB will act as a base token to allow global blockchain teams to participate in the construction of a global exchange,” stated the company.
Conclusion
The OKEx trading platform supports a wide range of features and trading venues, being targeted towards more advanced traders. Novices to the crypto verse will have a harder time adjusting to the platform, but they will most likely find something useful on OKEx.
