What OKX does

OKX is a global cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 platform serving more than 120 million retail, institutional, and developer users across 100+ countries. The platform operates a centralized exchange offering spot trading, perpetual swaps, delivery futures, and options across approximately 700 crypto and fiat pairs and 900 trading instruments, with derivatives accounting for ~88% of trading volume. OKX holds the second-largest user asset reserves among centralized exchanges ($15.9B in Q1 2026) and captured 26.3% of global USDT-margined futures volume in May 2026, narrowly leading Binance at 21.1% in a reversal of cycle-long exchange leadership.

The technology stack combines a high-performance matching engine with REST and WebSocket APIs, an Ethereum Layer-2 network (X Layer), an integrated self-custody Web3 wallet, Exchange OS for permissionless market deployment, and the Agent Payments Protocol for autonomous AI-agent commerce. Revenue is anchored by maker/taker trading fees across spot and derivatives, supplemented by OTC block-trading spread capture (Liquid Marketplace RFQ), stablecoin economics on USDG (up to 4.1% APY), staking and Earn spreads, interchange on a Mastercard-linked stablecoin card processing ~$1.5B monthly in the EEA, and OKX Rubix digital-assets-as-a-service licensing to regulated financial institutions. Multi-jurisdictional regulatory coverage includes a full MiCA licence across 30 EEA countries, VARA-regulated retail derivatives in Dubai, a Malta payments institution license, and US operations under NMLS #1767779.

Strategic positioning has shifted decisively toward institutional and traditional-finance integration following Intercontinental Exchange's ~$200M strategic investment at a $25B valuation in March 2026 and the subsequent formation of the OKXICE 50/50 joint venture to distribute tokenized equities and ICE futures to OKX's user base. Distribution spans self-serve consumer (okx.com and iOS/Android apps), institutional field sales with dedicated VIP support, an API-first developer channel with a Python SDK and broker program, OEM/embedded partnerships via Rubix, and high-profile brand sponsorships with Tribeca Festival, McLaren F1, and Manchester City. OKX is privately held, was founded in 2013, is headquartered in Mahé, Seychelles, with US operations registered in San Francisco, and employs between 1,001 and 5,000 staff globally.

Name

OKX

Legal name

OKX.COM

Website

https://okx.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

OKX is the second-largest global cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and reserves, serving 120M+ retail and institutional users with spot, derivatives, and tokenized asset trading, complemented by AI-native trading infrastructure and full MiCA, VARA, and US regulatory licenses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cryptocurrency Exchange

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (5232), Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (523160), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221), Finance Services (6199), Asset-Backed Securities (6189)

akta.pro primary industry

Spot Crypto Exchanges (Order-Book & Matching Engine) (FSADAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Centralized Crypto Exchanges (CEX) (FSAPADAA), Crypto Custody & Exchange Wallet Services (Integrated) (FSADAAAG), Fiat On/Off-Ramps & Payment Rails (Exchange-Operated) (FSADAAAF), On-Chain Payments & Stablecoin Infrastructure (Issuance, Rails, Treasury) (FSAGAMAD), Crypto-Digital Asset Market Making (Spot & Derivatives) (FSACANAJ), Digital Asset/Crypto Trade Execution Platforms (FSAFANAO), Options (Vanilla) — Venues, Market Makers & Protocols (FSADAGAC), Copy Trading, Social Trading & Automated Trading Platforms (FSADAAAK)

Keywords

• Cryptocurrency exchange
• Spot derivatives trading
• Web3 infrastructure
• Digital asset custody
• OTC block trading

Headquarters

HQ city

Mahé

HQ country

Seychelles

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Trading fees: Maker/taker fees on 700+ spot, futures, and options trading pairs across retail and institutional tiers. Fee revenue scales with trading volume, where derivatives (perpetuals, futures) account for approximately 88% of OKX trading volume, making derivatives the primary revenue driver.
2. Block trading / OTC (Liquid Marketplace): Spread capture and commissions on large institutional OTC block trades executed via RFQ, with reported savings of up to 50% versus order book execution. Minimum notional of $1,000 USD per block.
3. Mastercard stablecoin card program: Interchange and service fees from OKX's Mastercard-linked stablecoin card in Europe processing approximately $1.5 billion monthly ($18 billion annualized) in EEA spending under MiCA and PSD2 compliance via OKX's Malta payments institution license.
4. Stablecoin yield (USDG): Yield-based revenue from the USDG stablecoin rewards program offering up to 4.1% APY paid weekly, backed 1:1 by USD reserves.
5. Staking and Earn product fees: Fees and spread on Simple Earn, On-chain Earn (PoS staking), Flash Earn, Dual Investment, and AutoEarn products across ETH, SOL, ADA, TRX, GRAM, SUI, CRO and others.
6. OKX Rubix (digital-assets-as-a-service): Revenue from regulated financial institutions embedding OKX's backend trading, liquidity, and custody infrastructure into their own platforms under modular building blocks.
7. OKX Connect / Broker Program: Rewardable commissions from broker/partner integrations routing client order flow and assets to OKX market depth.
8. Institutional collateral and treasury services: Revenue from custody, lending, and structured product services including integration of tokenized real-world assets like BlackRock's BUIDL as yield-bearing collateral held at Standard Chartered custody.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion6 records

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

OKX operates a centralized cryptocurrency exchange providing spot, perpetual swap, delivery futures, and options trading across 700+ crypto and fiat pairs, supported by a high-performance matching engine with 99.99% uptime and Proof-of-Reserves-verified 1:1 custody. Around the core exchange, OKX offers fiat on-ramp (Buy Crypto/Convert), stablecoin yield (USDG), staking/earn products, an OTC RFQ liquidity network (Liquid Marketplace), and institutional infrastructure including OKX Rubix (digital-assets-as-a-service), OKX Connect (broker program), and free REST/WebSocket APIs. Web3 extensions include an Ethereum Layer-2 (X Layer), the Agent Payments Protocol for AI-agent commerce, the Agentic Wallet, and onchain market deployment (Exchange OS).

Product overview

OKX is a platform-plus-modules unified crypto trading and Web3 ecosystem anchored by its core CEX (spot, futures, options across 700+ pairs) and extended through institutional and retail sub-products. The flagship OKX Exchange provides spot, perpetual swap, delivery futures, and options with a high-speed matching engine and Proof-of-Reserves-verified 1:1 custody. Around it sit OKX Buy Crypto/Convert (fiat on-ramp with Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, card, and bank support), Earn (Simple Earn flexible/term yields plus On-chain Earn PoS staking), USDG Rewards (up to 4.1% APY on the USDG stablecoin), and the OKX Liquid Marketplace (OTC RFQ block trading). For institutions, OKX Institutional, OKX Rubix (digital-assets-as-a-service), OKX Connect, and the free REST/WebSocket OKX API (with Python SDK and demo environment) provide deep liquidity, custody, FIX/REST/WebSocket integration, and broker/market-maker programs. AI-native capabilities are exposed through the OKX Agent Trade Kit (MCP server + CLI for Claude/Cursor/Codex/OpenClaw) and the OKX Skills Marketplace (64+ trading skills). Web3 and onchain extensions include X Layer (L2 on Ethereum), Exchange OS (permissionless market-building on X Layer), Agent Payments Protocol with Agentic Wallet (autonomous AI-agent payments across 20+ chains), Tokenized Stock Trading (xStocks via Ondo), X-Perps (Magnificent 7 / commodities / pre-IPO perpetual futures), the OKX Mastercard-linked stablecoin Card in Europe, and OKX DEX.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OKX Rubix: Digital assets-as-a-service offering for regulated financial institutions.
• OKX Connect
• OKX Agent Trade Kit
• OKX Liquid Marketplace
• OKX Skills Marketplace
• USDG
• Xlayer
• OKX Onchain OS

Products and services

• OKX Exchange (Spot, Futures, Options) Centralized crypto exchange for spot, margin, perpetual swap, delivery futures, and options trading across 700+ crypto and fiat pairs, with a high-speed matching engine, low fees, and Proof-of-Reserves-backed 1:1 reserves.
• Buy Crypto Fiat on-ramp supporting credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and bank transfers for buying 100+ cryptocurrencies.
• Convert Zero-fee instant crypto-to-crypto converter with no slippage and automatic optimal pricing, settling trades directly to the user's OKX funding account across 100+ assets.
• USDG Stablecoin USD-backed stablecoin redeemable 1:1 for US dollars, with up to 4.1% APY paid weekly for VIPs and 3.5% for others; no lockups or fees.
• OKX Earn (Simple Earn & On-chain Earn Staking) Flexible and term crypto earn products plus PoS staking for ETH, SOL, ADA, TRX, SUI, CRO and others, with daily reward distribution.
• OKX Liquid Marketplace (OTC RFQ) On-demand OTC block-trading network offering RFQ automation, custom multi-leg strategies across spot, futures, and options, with savings up to 50% versus order book execution and 24/7 VIP support.
• OKX Institutional Institutional trading platform providing deep liquidity across 900+ instruments, OTC RFQ block trading, Connect broker program, custody, and historical market data for VIPs and institutions.
• OKX Rubix (Digital-Assets-as-a-Service) White-label service letting regulated financial institutions embed OKX trading liquidity, RFQ, post-trade settlement, custody, and tokenized collateral into their own platforms via FIX, REST, or WebSocket APIs.
• OKX Connect (Broker Program) Broker/connectivity program offering dedicated APIs, OAuth integration, IP allowlisting, and 24/7 support for asset managers, trading bots, copy-trading platforms, and exchange aggregators routing client flow to OKX market depth.
• OKX API (REST & WebSocket) Free REST and WebSocket API covering spot, margin, contracts, options, and trading statistics, with a Python SDK, demo trading environment, and dedicated Market Maker and Broker endpoints.
• OKX Agent Trade Kit AI-native trading toolkit exposing an MCP server and CLI that let AI agents (Claude Desktop/Code, Cursor, Codex, OpenClaw) execute OKX trading strategies from natural-language intents, with plug-and-play Skills for market data, trade execution, portfolio, bots, and earn.
• OKX Skills Marketplace Open-source marketplace of AI trading skills spanning News & markets, Trade execution, Trading strategies, and Trade review, with safety scanning and Ed25519-signed installations.
• Agent Payments Protocol (APP) & Agentic Wallet Open-standard protocol under OKX's Onchain OS enabling AI agents to autonomously quote, escrow, pay, and settle across multiple blockchains, paired with an Agentic Wallet operating across 20+ chains via trusted execution environments.
• Tokenized Stock Trading (via Ondo Finance) Tokenized equity trading service offering 260+ U.S.-listed stocks (Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, Google, etc.) via USDT/USDC on OKX's CeDeFi platform through Ondo Finance, with 24/5 trading and $20 minimum.
• X-Perps (Stock & Commodity Perpetuals) Perpetual futures on traditional assets including the Magnificent 7 tech stocks, indices (SPY, QQQ), and commodities (Gold, Silver, WTI/Brent Crude), with up to 10x leverage for European traders under MiFID, plus pre-IPO perpetuals (OpenAI, SpaceX, Anthropic).
• Exchange OS (on X Layer) Permissionless market-building platform on OKX's X Layer L2 that lets any developer deploy spot trading markets, perpetual futures contracts, and prediction markets with institutional-grade onchain analytics from Glassnode.
• USDS-M Options on Bitcoin and Ether Fully USD-denominated options on Bitcoin and Ether, with USDC and USDG accepted as settlement currencies alongside coin-margined options under OKX's UAE and Australia regulated frameworks.
• OKX Card (Mastercard-linked Stablecoin Card) Mastercard-linked stablecoin debit card operating under MiCA and PSD2 via OKX's Malta payments institution license, converting stablecoin balances into regulated fiat transactions at merchants across the EEA; processes approximately $1.5 billion monthly.
• OKX UAE Regulated Derivatives (under VARA) VARA-regulated futures, perpetual contracts, and options for retail traders in the UAE under Dubai's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority pilot framework.

Quantifiable outcome

• $40T+ in cumulative notional trading volume across the platform's lifetime
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration19 records

AI capability11 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.

• Indonesia Blockchain Week (IDBW) 2026 organizers and co-sponsors (Binance, AWS, Tether, Saison Capital, GRVT, Tokocrypto)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 August 2026OKX is a sponsor and partner of the Indonesia Blockchain Week 2026 (August 12-13, Jakarta), positioned alongside Binance, AWS, Tether, and other sponsors as a convergence point for policymakers, financial institutions, and builders in Southeast Asia's largest digital economy.
• MastercardflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026OKX is one of more than 30 launch partners in Mastercard's Agent Pay for Machines (AP4M) initiative, which enables AI agents to authorize, coordinate, and settle payments across cards, bank accounts, and stablecoins on Mastercard's global network. Separately, OKX operates a Mastercard-linked stablecoin card in Europe that processes approximately $1.5 billion monthly under MiCA and PSD2 compliance via OKX's Malta payments institution license.
• Andrew Cuomo (Former NY Governor) and Trabue Bland (ICE SVP)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and ICE Senior Vice President Trabue Bland serve as co-chairs of the OKX-ICE 50/50 joint venture (OKXICE) building tokenized equity and futures infrastructure. Cuomo, who began advising OKX in 2023, joined as co-chair to help bridge Wall Street compliance frameworks with crypto's 24/7 technology capabilities. The appointment marks Cuomo's next career move following his 2025 NYC mayoral election loss and 2021 gubernatorial resignation.
• Chainalysis, ComplyCrypto, Zodia Custody, Ghana EOCO and UK NCAcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 June 2026Cross-border fraud recovery partnership where OKX provided a compliance alert that initiated the case, Chainalysis Reactor software tracked the funds across 119.4 BTC, 93 ETH, and 2.85 million USDT, and Zodia Custody and ComplyCrypto liquidated the assets for victim restitution. Approximately $15.1 million was seized from a Chinese-Malaysian organized crime syndicate operating an investment fraud platform.
• Tribeca Festival, McLaren Formula 1 Team, Manchester City, Coach Pep Guardiola and Scotty JamesflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2026OKX maintains high-profile brand partnerships including sponsorship of the Tribeca Festival's after-hours circuit and brand activations, McLaren Formula 1 Team, Manchester City, and endorsements from Coach Pep Guardiola and Olympic snowboarder Scotty James. These partnerships target mainstream brand awareness beyond crypto-native audiences.
• Ondo FinancecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 May 2026OKX partnered with Ondo Finance to launch a tokenized stock trading service on its CeDeFi platform, allowing users to buy and sell over 260 U.S.-listed stocks (Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, Google) using USDT or USDC. The service reduces the minimum investment threshold to $20, enables 24/5 trading including pre-market and after-market sessions, and removes the need for separate securities accounts or bank transfers.
• GlassnodecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 May 2026Glassnode serves as the official onchain data provider for Exchange OS, OKX's permissionless market-building platform launched on OKX's Xlayer (Ethereum L2) on May 26, 2026. The integration enables any developer to deploy spot trading markets, perpetual futures contracts, and prediction markets with institutional-grade onchain analytics.
• Securitize (NYSE tokenization partner)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 May 2026Securitize serves as the digital transfer agent for NYSE's blockchain-based tokenized securities platform, which is under regulatory review. This complements OKX's joint venture with ICE/NYSE to provide trading and on-chain settlement of tokenized securities to OKX's 120 million users.
• RipplecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Ripple and OKX announced a strategic partnership to expand Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin access on OKX's platform. RLUSD is now live across 280+ spot trading pairs including XRP/RLUSD and is accepted as institutional-grade margin collateral for derivatives and perpetual futures. Execution is supported by Ripple Prime within OKX's Unified Order Book. RLUSD has surpassed $1.5 billion market capitalization since its December 2024 launch.
• BlackRock and Standard CharteredflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026OKX, BlackRock, and Standard Chartered jointly launched an integrated tokenized real-world asset (RWA) collateral framework that integrates BlackRock's BUIDL tokenized Treasury fund into collateral workflows for OKX VIP and institutional clients. Standard Chartered is the first globally systemically important bank (G-SIB) to act as custodian in such an arrangement, holding BUIDL off-exchange in regulated custody while clients trade seamlessly on OKX Middle East.
• Google CloudcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 April 2026OKX integrated with Google's Gemini AI models and participated in the Google Cloud Stablecoin Hong Kong Forum co-hosted with ODIG. The integration supports OKX's AI-driven Agent Trade Kit and broader AI agent infrastructure including the Agent Payments Protocol.
• AWS, Alibaba Cloud, Ethereum Foundation, Solana, Uniswap, Paxos and MoonPaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026These seven entities signed on as day-one partners supporting OKX's Agent Payments Protocol (APP), an open standard for AI agent-driven commerce enabling autonomous quoting, escrow, and settlement across multiple blockchains including Ethereum and Solana. The protocol addresses a gap where AI agents previously could only handle single transactions but could not manage complex commerce workflows.
• Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPalcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2026OKX integrates multiple fiat payment rails on its Buy Crypto page, supporting credit/debit cards (Visa, Mastercard), Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal purchases subject to regional availability. These are listed as core payment-method options for retail crypto purchases on the US storefront.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights9 records

Direct peers

• Binance: The world's largest centralized crypto exchange by trading volume. Directly competes with OKX across spot, perpetual futures, and options, with overlapping institutional and retail offerings and identical derivatives-led revenue model.
• Bybit: Derivatives-focused centralized exchange competing directly with OKX in USDT-margined perpetual futures. Comparable product breadth across spot, derivatives, copy trading, and Earn, with similar institutional OTC RFQ offerings.
• Bitget: Top-tier centralized exchange competing head-to-head with OKX in perpetual futures and copy trading. Operates a similar one-click convert, copy-trading, and futures-led product mix targeting the same global retail trader base.
• Coinbase: US-regulated publicly listed crypto exchange that has expanded into derivatives (via Deribit acquisition) and tokenized RWAs. Comparable in pursuing institutional RWA collateral, regulatory licensing depth, and a regulated bridge between TradFi and crypto.
• Crypto.com: Centralized crypto exchange with a comparable integrated offering spanning spot, derivatives, a Visa/Mastercard-linked card, stablecoin, and staking. Competes with OKX on card-based retail stablecoin payments and VIP institutional services.
• Kraken: Regulated US-headquartered crypto exchange offering spot, futures, and staking with strong institutional custody and OTC services. Comparable in regulatory depth and institutional client focus, though with a smaller derivatives book than OKX.
• KuCoin: Global centralized exchange with a similar altcoin-heavy spot offering, futures perpetuals, and earn/staking products. Competes with OKX on breadth of listed tokens and retail derivatives across emerging markets.
• HTX (Huobi): Global crypto exchange (rebranded from Huobi) offering spot, derivatives, and Earn products with comparable geographic footprint. Competes with OKX for retail trading volume in Asia and emerging markets.
• Bitfinex: Crypto-native exchange known for deep derivatives liquidity and institutional OTC desk. Closely comparable to OKX's Liquid Marketplace RFQ offering and derivatives-led revenue mix, with overlapping professional trader customer base.
• Gate.io: Long-standing global centralized exchange offering spot, futures, options, and Earn products with very broad altcoin listings. Comparable to OKX on breadth of trading instruments and global retail trader focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat8 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/okx
• Xx.com/okx
• Facebookfacebook.com/okxofficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/okxofficial

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments10 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about OKX