Updated Rules checked 2026-10-21
Choosing between OKX and Gate comes down to which coins you trade and how much you keep on the exchange. Pick OKX if you mainly trade major coins like BTC and ETH, want to keep the option of changing referrers, or often move USDT in and out. Pick Gate if you want to trade lesser-known coins, want more futures contracts to choose from, or keep 10,000 to 100,000 USD in your account. For regular users (VIP 0), the USDT perpetual futures rates are exactly the same on both: Maker 0.02%, Taker 0.05%. On spot, OKX’s 0.08% Maker rate is lower, while Gate’s Taker rate is lower at 0.09% once you turn on GT deduction. So at VIP 0, your trading cost depends mostly on the referral code rebate.
The biggest differences are in what you can trade and in the rules. Gate lists 2,054 spot base coins against OKX’s 445, and 591 crypto USDT perpetual contracts against OKX’s 287; BTC and ETH go up to 200x on Gate and 100x on OKX. On referral codes, neither exchange lets you add one after sign-up, but OKX has two routes, an official switching request and reassignment after 180 days of inactivity, while we found no official process on Gate for changing a referrer. Moving USDT also costs very different amounts: withdrawing from OKX over Aptos costs 0.00088 USDT, while Gate’s cheapest network, also Aptos, costs 0.04 USDT.
On security, neither exchange has a major public incident of its platform wallets being hacked (under this site’s inclusion criteria), but each has other records worth knowing: OKX halted withdrawals for about 41 days in 2020, and its operating entity pleaded guilty in the US on 2025-02-24; Gate suspended futures trading on 2025-04-23 for an emergency upgrade of its futures system and promised compensation. Neither has a direct New Taiwan dollar (TWD) deposit channel, and Taiwan is not on either exchange’s list of restricted regions.
Sign up to OKX with the referral code KEVINWU and the exchange automatically refunds 20% on both spot and futures, paid back directly by OKX.
Sign up to Gate with the referral code KEVINXYZ and, after each trade is completed, Gate automatically refunds 20% of the fee to your spot account, on both spot and futures.
Key points:
1. At VIP 0, USDT perpetual futures cost Maker 0.02% and Taker 0.05% on both OKX and Gate; spot is 0.08% / 0.1% on OKX and 0.1% / 0.1% on Gate, or 0.09% / 0.09% with GT deduction on.
2. With identical futures rates, whichever exchange has the higher rebate rate is cheaper after the rebate; OKX officially states that the invitee rebate ranges from 0% to 20%.
3. On both exchanges you can only enter a referral code at sign-up; OKX has an official switching request (automatic review, 30 days between requests), while we found no official process on Gate for changing it.
4. Gate has far more to trade: 2,054 spot coins and 591 crypto perpetual contracts, against OKX’s 445 and 287.
5. Moving USDT between the two over Aptos costs 0.00088 USDT from OKX and 0.04 USDT from Gate; OKX has no BEP20.
The information below was checked against official pages on 2026-10-21 (the data check date) and is provided for reference.
OKX vs Gate: what’s the difference?
| Item | OKX | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| Spot Maker / Taker (VIP 0) | 0.08% / 0.1% (standard pairs) | 0.1% / 0.1% |
| USDT perpetual futures Maker / Taker (VIP 0) | 0.02% / 0.05% | 0.02% / 0.05% |
| Platform-token discount | None; OKX states that OKB can’t be used to discount fees | GT: 10% off spot (0.09%); not available for futures |
| Reaching VIP on account assets | 100,000 USD in assets gets you VIP 1 (futures Taker 0.045%); 200,000 USD gets you VIP 2 (futures Taker 0.036%) | 10,000 USD in assets gets you VIP 3 (futures Taker 0.048%); 40,000 USD gets you VIP 5 (0.045%); 100,000 USD gets you VIP 6 (0.042%) |
| Referral code rebate | 20% | 20% |
| Rebate duration and VIP limits | No term stated for the invitee rebate; monthly cap at VIP 5 and VIP 6, no rebate at VIP 7 or above | No time limit while the referral relationship exists; no rebate at VIP 11 or above |
| Adding a referral code after sign-up | Not possible; it can’t be added or changed once the account is created | No official process found |
| Switching referrers | You can submit a switching request (automatic review, 30-day cooldown, available in some regions), or be reassigned after 180 days of inactivity | No official process found; each user can sign up through only one invitation mode |
| Identity verification | Without completing identity verification, you can’t deposit, withdraw, trade or buy and sell on C2C | All users must complete identity verification, before both deposits and withdrawals |
| Restricted regions | Taiwan not included; includes Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Canada and parts of the US; derivatives not supported in Singapore; futures and P2P restricted in South Korea | Taiwan not included; the longest list of the 13 exchanges, including Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand |
| TWD deposit options | No TWD bank deposits; TWD C2C discontinued from 2024-06-24 | No TWD bank deposits; a USDT/TWD C2C market exists, which showed “no ads available” when checked on 2026-10-17 |
| Spot base coins | 445 | 2,054 (2,203 trading pairs) |
| Crypto USDT perpetual contracts | 287, with BTC, ETH, SOL and XRP up to 100x; plus 212 stock and commodity contracts | 591, with BTC and ETH up to 200x; plus 443 stock, index, metal, forex and commodity contracts |
| Crypto contracts with funding settled every 4 hours | 211 (of 287) | 397 (of 591) |
| Copy trading / grid | Futures copy trading; 11 official strategy types, including spot and futures grid, Martingale and signal strategies | Futures copy trading; spot grid, futures grid, infinity grid, Martingale and DCA |
| Copy trading profit share | Depends on the lead trader’s level; calculated from net profit after fees, settled every Monday | Set by the lead trader within their level’s limit, up to 30% for expert level; calculated every 7 days, paid out daily |
| Cheapest USDT withdrawal networks and fees | Plasma (USDT0) 0.0000059 USDT, Aptos 0.00088 (minimum 2); ERC20 0.28, TRC20 1.5; no BEP20 | Aptos 0.04 USDT (minimum 1); BEP20 0.5, ERC20 1, TRC20 1.5 (2026-10-18) |
| Proof of reserves (latest snapshot) | Data time 2026-10-03: platform assets exceed user assets for BTC, ETH and USDT, with 13,665.87 BTC more | Latest edition in the announcements, 2026-08-19: BTC 122.79%, ETH 122.05%, stablecoins combined 111.63% |
| Major security incidents | No major public incident of platform wallets being hacked found; withdrawals halted for about 41 days from 2020-10-16 to 11-26 (not a hack) | No major public incident of platform wallets being hacked found; futures system suspended for an emergency upgrade on 2025-04-23, with compensation promised |
Sources and dates: OKX spot rates and VIP thresholds were read from the OKX fee page on 2026-10-21; futures rates for VIP 0 to VIP 2 are on the same page and in the OKX trading fee FAQ (checked on 2026-10-17). Gate’s rates and VIP thresholds come from the Gate fee page and the Gate VIP page (checked between 2026-10-11 and 10-18). Coin counts, contract counts, leverage and funding intervals are the items in trading on 2026-10-21, counted through both exchanges’ official public APIs (OKX contract list, OKX spot list, Gate USDT perpetual futures, Gate spot trading pairs), excluding pre-market contracts; they change as items are listed and delisted. OKX’s USDT withdrawal fees were read from the OKX withdrawal fee page on 2026-10-21, and Gate’s from the deposit and withdrawal tab of the Gate fee page on 2026-10-18. Sources for the other rows are given in the matching sections below.
How much do OKX and Gate fees differ?
Suppose someone trades 200,000 USDT of USDT perpetual futures and 20,000 USDT of spot each month, all at the official VIP 0 rates:
| Monthly fees (USDT) | OKX | Gate | Gate (GT deduction on) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Futures 200,000, all Taker | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Spot 20,000, all Taker | 20 | 20 | 18 |
| Total (all Taker) | 120 | 120 | 118 |
| Total (all switched to Maker) | 56 | 60 | 58 |
The estimate uses both exchanges’ official VIP 0 rates: futures cost 200,000 × 0.05% = 100 USDT on both; with all Maker orders, futures cost 200,000 × 0.02% = 40 USDT on both, OKX spot Maker is 20,000 × 0.08% = 16 USDT, Gate is 20 USDT, and Gate with GT is 18 USDT.
The results are very close. If you usually place market orders, the two differ by at most 2 USDT a month (when GT deduction is on at Gate). If you usually place Maker orders, OKX costs 2 to 4 USDT less a month, and the whole gap comes from spot. So at VIP 0, the fees themselves aren’t what decides it; the rebate is. Both exchanges let you place Maker-only orders: OKX calls it “Post only”, and on Gate it’s “Post-Only” under the advanced limit order. For details, see the difference between Maker and Taker fees.
Each exchange has one fee setting to check first. When your Gate account holds point cards, paying spot fees with point cards costs a fixed 0.2%, twice the VIP 0 rate, and futures taker orders also use point cards first by default (Gate fee page). On OKX, “special rule trading pairs” cost Maker 0.1% and Taker 0.15%, higher than standard pairs; the most reliable way to see which set applies to a pair is the “Fee” field on the order panel (OKX fee page).
Larger account balances: Gate is cheaper below 100,000 USD, OKX at 200,000 USD
Both exchanges let you reach VIP on account assets, but the thresholds are designed differently. On OKX, you qualify for a VIP level by meeting any one of three criteria: assets, 30-day spot volume or futures volume, and you don’t need to hold OKB; assets have to reach 100,000 USD for VIP 1. Gate’s asset thresholds are much lower, with 10,000 USD already getting you VIP 3, but the lower levels cut fees only slightly, and VIP 1 and VIP 2 have the same futures rates as VIP 0. Using the same example:
| Account assets (USD) | OKX level and monthly fees | Gate level and monthly fees |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | VIP 0: 120 USDT | VIP 3: 200,000 × 0.048% + 20,000 × 0.097% = 115.4 USDT |
| 40,000 | VIP 0: 120 USDT | VIP 5: 200,000 × 0.045% + 20,000 × 0.095% = 109 USDT |
| 100,000 | VIP 1: 200,000 × 0.045% + 20,000 × 0.08% = 106 USDT | VIP 6: 200,000 × 0.042% + 20,000 × 0.09% = 102 USDT |
| 200,000 | VIP 2: 200,000 × 0.036% + 20,000 × 0.07% = 86 USDT | VIP 7: 200,000 × 0.0375% + 20,000 × 0.085% = 92 USDT |
Same assumptions as above, all Taker, no platform token. OKX’s asset thresholds and spot rates were read from the OKX fee page on 2026-10-21 and its futures rates on 2026-10-17; Gate’s come from the Gate VIP page on 2026-10-11. Gate values your assets by applying a coefficient based on each coin’s market-cap ranking, so the level shown on the fee page is what actually counts.
Below 100,000 USD in assets, Gate is 4 to 11 USDT a month cheaper. At 200,000 USD it flips: OKX’s VIP 2 futures Taker rate of 0.036% is lower than Gate VIP 7’s 0.0375%, saving 6 USDT a month. Gate also has another route: holding an average of 2,000 GT over 14 days also gets you VIP 5, but you take on GT’s price swings. At these levels, both exchanges still pay the referral code rebate as normal (OKX has no limit up to VIP 4, and Gate stops only at VIP 11 and above). The trade-off is that the assets have to stay on the exchange for the long term, a risk you need to weigh yourself. For a full comparison of VIP thresholds across exchanges, see exchange VIP levels compared.
With identical futures rates, how do the rebates compare?
A referral code rebate returns part of the fees you actually pay, so the rate after the rebate = official rate × (1 − rebate rate). At VIP 0, the futures Taker rate is 0.05% on both, so they start from the same point: whichever has the higher rebate rate costs less, with no break-even to work out. For the current rates on both, see the “Referral code rebate” row in the comparison table, or the calculators below.
Each calculator below uses its own exchange’s official futures Taker rate, and the rebate rates update in sync with the exchanges. Enter the 200,000 USDT from the example above in each to see which is cheaper after the rebate.
Calculator: OKX futures (Taker 0.05%)
| Monthly volume | Fees (0.05%) | Auto rebate (20%) | Net fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 USDT | 5 USDT | 1 USDT | 4 USDT |
| 100,000 USDT | 50 USDT | 10 USDT | 40 USDT |
| 1,000,000 USDT | 500 USDT | 100 USDT | 400 USDT |
Example at a futures fee rate of 0.05% and the current 20% automatic rebate (rate updated 2026-10-24). Your exchange statement prevails.
Sign up with this site’s OKX referral code and the exchange’s automatic rebate is 20%, on spot, futures and options. OKX has no platform-token discount, so the rebate is calculated directly on the net fees you actually pay.
Calculator: Gate futures (Taker 0.05%)
| Monthly volume | Fees (0.05%) | Auto rebate (20%) | Net fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 USDT | 5 USDT | 1 USDT | 4 USDT |
| 100,000 USDT | 50 USDT | 10 USDT | 40 USDT |
| 1,000,000 USDT | 500 USDT | 100 USDT | 400 USDT |
Example at a futures fee rate of 0.05% and the current 20% automatic rebate (rate updated 2026-10-24). Your exchange statement prevails.
Sign up with this site’s Gate referral code and the exchange’s automatic rebate is 20%, refunded to your spot account after each trade is completed, on both spot and futures. Gate doesn’t state officially whether, with GT deduction on, the rebate is calculated on the fee before or after the deduction.
For the full rates, VIP tables and withdrawal fees, see OKX fees and Gate fees. How futures costs are calculated is explained in how futures fees are calculated, and you can try your own numbers in the perpetual futures cost calculator.
How do OKX and Gate futures rules differ?
With the same fees, the futures differences lie in maximum leverage, funding and liquidation rules:
| Item | OKX | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| BTC maximum leverage | 100x (positions up to 1,000 contracts, i.e. 10 BTC) | 200x (positions up to 500,000 USDT) |
| Leverage spread across crypto contracts | Of 287: 4 at 100x, 64 at 50x, 158 at 20x, 61 at 10x | Of 591: 2 at 200x, 56 at 75x, 156 at 50x, 140 at 20x, 110 at 10x |
| BTC tier 1 maintenance margin rate | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Funding settlement interval (crypto contracts) | 211 every 4 hours, 76 every 8 hours | 397 every 4 hours, 191 every 8 hours, 3 every hour |
| Funding rate cap and floor | BTC ±0.375%; 278 contracts at ±1% | BTC ±0.3%; 556 contracts at ±2% |
| When liquidated | A liquidation fee at the Taker rate, plus a deleveraging fee; negative balances from losses beyond the margin are covered by the risk reserve, not by the user | Settled at the bankruptcy price; the insurance fund’s sources include the maintenance margin left over after liquidation |
Sources and dates: leverage, maintenance margin rates, funding intervals and caps are results read on 2026-10-21 from the OKX position tier API, the OKX funding rate API, the Gate risk limit API and both exchanges’ contract list APIs. Liquidation rules come from the OKX liquidation FAQ, Gate’s introduction to the liquidation mechanism and Gate’s insurance fund explanation.
The gap between 200x and 100x only matters for BTC and ETH, and the maximum leverage applies only to the first position tier. What most people run into more often is funding: funding is paid between longs and shorts, neither exchange takes a cut, and neither pays a rebate on it. Most Gate contracts settle every 4 hours, so the same 0.01% rate is paid 6 times a day. Its caps are also wider: most contracts are at ±2%, so a 10,000 USDT position that hits the cap pays 200 USDT in a single settlement, while most OKX contracts are capped at ±1%. If you often hold small-coin futures overnight, this matters more than the trading fee; see what the funding rate is for how it works (OKX perpetual funding fee rules, Gate funding rate explanation). Also, when you open a position, Gate sets aside a 0.075% closing fee as margin (Gate initial margin explanation).
Leverage magnifies your position, and if the price moves against you the position may be forcibly liquidated and you lose your margin. You can estimate your liquidation price with the liquidation price calculator; for the difference between cross and isolated margin, see cross vs isolated margin, and for full walkthroughs on each exchange, see the OKX futures guide and the Gate futures guide.
How do OKX and Gate referral rebate rules differ?
On both, the exchange pays the rebate directly to the invitee, and both only let you bind a code at sign-up. The differences are in the VIP limits, and in whether you can fix anything after entering a wrong code or none at all:
| Rule | OKX | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| Calculation basis | Net fees | Trading fees; not stated officially which amount is used once GT deduction is on |
| Markets covered | Spot, futures, options | Spot, Alpha, futures, margin; fiat trading excluded |
| Invitee rebate rate | Officially stated as ranging from 0% to 20%, set by the referral link | Shared by the affiliate out of their own commission |
| Duration | No term stated for the invitee rebate | No time limit while the referral relationship exists |
| VIP limits | Monthly cap at VIP 5 and VIP 6; no rebate at VIP 7 or above | No rebate at VIP 11 or above |
| Trades with no rebate | Fee-free assets; fees paid with rebate cards, futures trial funds or vouchers; special rates, market maker and broker accounts; funding | Fiat trading; funding |
| Can you check the binding yourself? | “My rewards” in the app shows the rebate rate and rebate history | No official place for invitees to check is stated; you can see whether rebates arrive after you trade |
| Adding a referral code later | Can’t be added or changed once the account is created | No official process found; the “you can bind within 7 days” claim online refers to Gate Wallet (Web3), not the exchange account |
| Changing referrer | Switching request: through an affiliate’s recall link or channel ID, automatic review, 30 days between requests, available only in some regions; or log in through a new affiliate’s link after 180 days of inactivity | No official process found; each user can be invited to sign up through only one invitation mode |
| Deleting the account and signing up again | OKX states that you can’t change attribution by deleting your account and signing up again | The user agreement prohibits using multiple accounts |
| Watch out at sign-up | If you open the invitation link and go download the app before finishing sign-up, the referral relationship may not be bound | Invitation relationships don’t carry across regional sites, so switching regional sites during sign-up means the relationship can’t be created; the referral is invalid if the inviter and invitee share the same IP |
Sources and dates: OKX’s rules come from the OKX affiliate program rules (updated 2026-09-29), the OKX affiliate FAQ (updated 2026-09-15), the OKX affiliate FAQ (EEA version) and the OKX referral program FAQ, rechecked on 2026-10-21. Gate’s rules come from the Gate referral rules, the Gate referral FAQ, the Gate announcement on invitee rebates and the Gate user agreement (updated 2026-07-22), checked on 2026-10-18.
If you already have an account, this is the biggest difference between the two. OKX doesn’t let you add a code later, but it does leave two routes, the switching request and 180 days of inactivity, and you can confirm in “My rewards” whether a code is bound. That said, the OKX affiliate FAQ still says that channel attribution can’t be changed once assigned, which doesn’t match the switching process, so whether you can switch depends on the review result on the switching page. On Gate, things are final the moment you sign up: if you enter the wrong code or leave it blank, you have to live with it. So always check the referral code field before you tap sign up, and don’t switch regional sites during sign-up. For details, see the OKX referral code switching guide, the Gate referral code switching guide and how to check whether you have a referral code bound; for choosing between rebate cards, vouchers and rebates, see fee vouchers vs referral code rebates.
Do OKX and Gate require identity verification? What should users in Taiwan know?
Identity verification: both require verification before you can use them normally. OKX states that without completing identity verification you can’t deposit or withdraw crypto, trade, or buy and sell on C2C (OKX identity verification FAQ). Gate states that all users must complete identity verification, before both deposits and withdrawals (Gate identity verification FAQ), and its fee page lists a VIP 0 withdrawal limit of 3 million USD every 24 hours. For the steps and the documents you need, see the OKX KYC identity verification guide and the Gate KYC identity verification guide.
TWD deposits and withdrawals: neither has a direct New Taiwan dollar bank deposit. OKX announced on 2024-06-07 that from 2024-06-24 users in Taiwan could no longer buy and sell with TWD on C2C (OKX announcement on removing C2C trading in Taiwan); when we checked the Gate C2C TWD market on 2026-10-17, it showed “no ads available”. The practical route is the same for both: buy USDT with TWD on a Taiwanese exchange (such as MAX or BitoPro), then transfer it to OKX or Gate, and to cash out to a Taiwanese bank account, do the same in reverse. OKX has no BEP20, so if you usually use BEP20 you’ll need to switch networks; for each network’s fees, see the USDT withdrawal fee comparison.
Regions and apps: Taiwan is not among the restricted regions in the OKX risk and compliance disclosure (updated 2026-07-08), nor among those in section 2.5 of the Gate user agreement (updated 2026-07-22). Both restrict Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Canada and the US (OKX restricts parts of the US and all its territories). The difference shows when you travel: Gate’s list is the longest of the 13 exchanges this site compares, also covering Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and the UK, and section 4 of its agreement states that perpetual futures are not available in prohibited regions; OKX only doesn’t support derivatives in Singapore, and restricts futures and P2P in South Korea and the UK. A country not being listed in the terms doesn’t mean you can use the exchange there: Thailand’s SEC has blocked OKX since 2025-06-28 (The Block). When we checked on 2026-10-21, both apps were available on the Taiwan App Store: the OKX app (developer OKX Inc.) and the Gate app (developer GATE GLOBAL UAB). For which countries each exchange restricts, see exchange restricted countries.
What is each of OKX and Gate good at?
OKX‘s strengths are its tools for major coins and moving money in and out. Spot Maker orders cost 0.08% without holding a platform token, you can check your referral code binding yourself, and withdrawing USDT mostly costs less than 0.03 USDT. Users hold about 143,000 BTC on the platform, more than 6 times Gate’s (the two snapshots have different dates; see the reserve figures in the next section).
- Trading bots: OKX lists 11 strategy types, including spot grid, futures grid, futures Martingale, DCA, arbitrage and signal strategies; signal strategies can place orders automatically from TradingView signals (OKX trading bots overview).
- Copy trading: futures copy trading, with a profit share that depends on the lead trader’s level. It’s calculated from net profit after trading fees and settled every Monday at 00:00 on the whole week’s net profit, with any overcharge refunded; copy trading fees are the same as regular futures (OKX lead trader profit sharing rules, OKX copy trading FAQ). Check the trader’s page for the actual share.
- Earn and more: the market rate for flexible USDT in Simple Earn was 3.5% on 2026-10-21; when checked on 2026-10-13, OKX took 15% of the earnings (OKX Simple Earn). It also offers options and a Web3 wallet where users hold their own private keys (What is OKX Web3 Wallet).
Gate‘s strength is choice. It has 2,054 spot base coins, more than 4 times OKX’s, and 591 crypto USDT perpetual contracts, about twice OKX’s 287, plus stock futures, delivery futures and options among its derivatives. Lesser-known coins usually trade in smaller volumes, so it’s worth checking the order book depth before you place an order.
- Trading bots: spot grid, futures grid, infinity grid, Martingale and DCA (Gate strategy bots).
- Copy trading: futures copy trading, and copy trading volume also counts toward your VIP level (Gate futures copy trading). Lead traders set their profit share within the limit of their own level, and the cap for expert-level traders was raised to 30% on 2024-09-20 (Gate announcement on profit share rates); profit share is calculated every 7 days and paid out daily at 01:45 (UTC) (Gate lead trader profit sharing rules).
- Earn and more: flexible USDT in Gate’s Simple Earn is matched lending, with an estimated annual rate of 2.40% from the official API on 2026-10-21 (Gate official API); there are also Launchpool, Gate Web3 Wallet and Gate Card.
Earn rates float; for a comparison across exchanges, see USDT flexible savings rates compared, and for bots, see exchange grid bots compared. Copy trading has fees too: copying a trader who makes 40 round trips a month with 1,000 USDT at 5x leverage, all Taker, costs 5,000 × 0.05% × 2 × 40 = 200 USDT on either exchange. Neither exchange states officially whether copy trading fees earn the referral rebate. For the full costs, see the cost of copy trading, and for how grids work, see what grid trading is.
How do OKX and Gate compare on proof of reserves and security record?
Both publish proof of reserves, and both offer a tool for users to confirm their own account is included, but they update on different schedules:
- OKX: published monthly and verified with zk-STARK. When read on 2026-10-21, the latest edition had a data time of 2026-10-03 00:00 (UTC+8): users held 142,809.76 BTC and the platform 156,475.63 BTC, 13,665.87 BTC more; ETH had 4,688.60 more, and USDT about 471 million USDT more. About 3.97% of the platform’s BTC is held with third-party custodians, which you can’t verify on-chain yourself (OKX proof of reserves page).
- Gate: uses a Merkle Tree plus zk-SNARKs, with no stated update frequency. When checked on 2026-10-18, the latest in its announcements was the 2026-08-19 snapshot: BTC 122.79%, ETH 122.05%, USDT and other stablecoins combined 111.63%, with users holding 22,436 BTC (Gate reserves announcement); on the same day, the Gate proof of reserves page was stuck on “Loading reserve data…” and showed no figures.
OKX’s snapshot is more recent and much larger; Gate’s published BTC reserve ratio has a comfortable margin, but there has been no new announcement for two months. The two exchanges’ major events:
- OKX’s 2020 withdrawal halt: OKX (then called OKEx) suspended withdrawals from 2020-10-16 because one of its private key holders was cooperating with a police investigation and couldn’t be reached (Decrypt); withdrawals resumed on 11-26, about 41 days later. Afterward, OKX set aside part of its futures and perpetual fee income as compensation rewards (OKX compensation announcement).
- OKX’s guilty plea on 2025-02-24: Aux Cayes FinTech, which operates OKX, pleaded guilty in the US to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, with a fine of 84.4 million USD plus forfeiture of 420.3 million USD, more than 504 million USD in total (US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York).
- Gate and the January 2019 ETC 51% attack: the Ethereum Classic blockchain suffered a 51% attack, and Gate lost about 40,000 ETC, worth about 200,000 USD at the time, which it said the platform would absorb (CoinDesk report, republished). This was an attack on the chain itself, not a theft from Gate’s wallets.
- Gate’s emergency futures system upgrade on 2025-04-23: because of heavy traffic, futures and copy trading were suspended, and Gate promised full compensation for user losses during the upgrade (excluding market factors) (The Block).
- Regulation in other regions: the unregistered platforms named by the Philippine SEC in August 2025 include OKX (Cointelegraph), and Thailand’s SEC has blocked OKX since 2025-06-28. Gate was on India’s 2023-12-28 list of notices to unregistered platforms (The Statesman), and in 2024 it withdrew its Hong Kong license application and stopped trading in Hong Kong (Fintech News Hong Kong).
As for protection mechanisms, OKX states that its security fund is not an insurance product and doesn’t guarantee compensation for any specific user’s losses (Understanding OKX’s security fund); Gate also states that its futures insurance fund is not a guarantee, and I couldn’t find an official Gate figure for the current size of its platform-wide protection fund. Proof of reserves only reflects assets at the moment of the snapshot and is not deposit insurance; you can consider moving coins you won’t trade for a while to a wallet you control yourself, and for protecting the account itself, see exchange account security settings. For the records of 13 exchanges side by side, see exchange safety records and exchange proof of reserves compared; full details on each are in the OKX review and the Gate review.
What to watch out for when moving from OKX to Gate (or the other way)
We suggest switching platforms in this order:
- Register the new account first, entering the referral code on the sign-up page. Neither exchange gives you a chance to add one later. When moving to Gate, don’t switch regional sites during sign-up; when moving to OKX, finish signing up before you download the app.
- Complete identity verification on the new account; both require it before you can deposit.
- On the old account, close positions, cancel orders and redeem Earn products first, transfer the USDT you want to move back to your funding or spot account, then withdraw.
- On the receiving exchange’s deposit page, choose USDT and the network, and copy the deposit address specific to that network; on the sending exchange, choose the same network. The first time you send to a new address, send a small amount to confirm it arrives before sending a large one.
There are no internal transfers between the two, so USDT has to go through an on-chain withdrawal, with a fixed fee per withdrawal charged by the sending exchange. The table below lists the 10 networks both exchanges offer, in USDT, with each cell showing “fee (minimum withdrawal)”:
| Network | Withdrawing from OKX to Gate | Withdrawing from Gate to OKX |
|---|---|---|
| Plasma | 0.0000059 (minimum 2) | 0.05 (minimum 1) |
| Aptos | 0.00088 (minimum 2) | 0.04 (minimum 1) |
| Arbitrum One | 0.0035 (minimum 2) | 0.05 (minimum 1) |
| Polygon | 0.01 (minimum 2) | 0.05 (minimum 1) |
| Optimism | 0.014 (minimum 2) | 0.05 (minimum 1) |
| Avalanche C-Chain | 0.021 (minimum 2) | 0.05 (minimum 1) |
| TON (Memo required) | 0.021 (minimum 2) | 0.3 (minimum 1) |
| ERC20 | 0.28 (minimum 2) | 1 (minimum 1) |
| Solana | 0.3 (minimum 2) | 0.5 (minimum 1) |
| TRC20 | 1.5 (minimum 10) | 1.5 (minimum 10) |
Data read from the OKX withdrawal fee page on 2026-10-21; Gate’s fees come from the deposit and withdrawal tab of the Gate fee page on 2026-10-18, and Gate’s network availability and minimum withdrawals from the Gate currency chain API on 2026-10-21. OKX labels Plasma, Polygon and Arbitrum One as USDT0, so before sending, check on the receiving side’s deposit page that the same network is open. Withdrawal fees change with on-chain conditions; the amount shown on the withdrawal page when you confirm is what counts.
Withdrawing from OKX, the first 7 networks in the table all cost less than 0.03 USDT; from Gate, even the cheapest, Aptos, costs 0.04 USDT. Aptos is the convenient choice in both directions. For a round trip, moving 1,000 USDT from OKX to Gate and back costs about 0.041 USDT in total over Aptos, against 3 USDT if both legs use TRC20. ERC20 is more expensive on Gate, 1 USDT against 0.28 USDT. OKX has no BEP20, so if you’re used to withdrawing from Gate over BEP20, you’ll need to switch networks. Choose a network that matches on both sides, because choosing the wrong one may mean losing the funds; if it happens, see what to do if you sent to the wrong network first. For the full fees on every network across 13 exchanges, see the USDT withdrawal fee comparison. Referral code rebates only cover trading fees, not withdrawal fees.
Who are OKX and Gate each best for?
- Beginners mainly buying major coins on spot: choose OKX. You don’t need to hold a platform token, spot Maker orders cost 0.08%, you can confirm in “My rewards” whether your referral code is bound, and if you entered the wrong one you can still submit a switching request.
- Futures traders who often place market orders (VIP 0): the futures rates are the same, so look at the rebate. Whichever exchange has the higher rate in the “Referral code rebate” row of the comparison table is cheaper after the rebate.
- Trading lesser-known coins, or wanting more futures contracts and options: choose Gate. It has 2,054 spot coins and 591 crypto perpetual contracts, with BTC and ETH up to 200x.
- Futures traders who often hold positions overnight: choose OKX. A smaller share of its contracts settle every 4 hours, and most of its contracts have a funding rate cap of ±1%, against ±2% for most on Gate.
- Account assets of 10,000 to 100,000 USD: choose Gate. 10,000 USD in assets gets you VIP 3, and 40,000 USD gets you VIP 5 with a futures Taker rate of 0.045%; OKX needs 100,000 USD for VIP 1. From 200,000 USD in assets, OKX VIP 2’s 0.036% is lower.
- Often moving USDT back to a Taiwanese exchange, or often traveling abroad: choose OKX. Withdrawals mostly cost less than 0.03 USDT, and its list of restricted regions is shorter than Gate’s: South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are not on OKX’s list of regions it doesn’t serve (South Korea restricts futures and P2P).
Many traders open accounts on both: keep major coins and most futures trading on OKX, trade coins listed only on Gate on Gate, and spread out the risk of a single platform halting withdrawals at the same time. Sending USDT over from OKX via Aptos costs next to nothing. You need to complete identity verification on each, and enter the referral code at sign-up on each.
How the data in this article was checked
OKX’s spot and VIP rates, USDT withdrawal fees and reserve figures, along with both exchanges’ coin counts, contract counts, maximum leverage, funding intervals and caps, are figures read from official pages and public APIs on 2026-10-21; OKX’s affiliate rules were rechecked the same day. Gate’s rates, VIP thresholds, withdrawal fees and affiliate rules were checked against its official fee page, VIP page and help center between 2026-10-11 and 10-18, and the C2C listings were checked on 2026-10-17. Earn rates are floating snapshots, and events were cross-checked against official announcements, judicial press releases and news reports. Our method is described in how rebate data is compiled, and the disclosure for referral links is in referral and rebate disclosure.
FAQ
Which has lower fees, OKX or Gate?
At VIP 0, futures rates are the same on both, and on spot each wins on one side. USDT perpetual futures cost Maker 0.02% and Taker 0.05% on both; spot is 0.08% / 0.1% on OKX and 0.1% / 0.1% on Gate, or 0.09% / 0.09% with GT deduction on. So OKX is cheaper for spot Maker orders, and Gate with GT is cheaper for spot Taker orders. With 10,000 to 100,000 USD in account assets, you reach a higher VIP level faster on Gate.
Can I use OKX and Gate at the same time?
Yes. OKX and Gate are different companies, so you just sign up and verify your identity on each. The restriction applies within one exchange: neither allows one person to open multiple accounts. Enter the referral code when you sign up on each; to move USDT between them you can use Aptos, which costs 0.00088 USDT from OKX and 0.04 USDT from Gate.
For users in Taiwan, OKX or Gate?
The conditions for using them in Taiwan are about the same. OKX is more convenient if you mainly trade major coins and often move USDT back to a Taiwanese exchange; Gate suits you if you want to trade lesser-known coins. Taiwan is not on either exchange’s list of restricted regions, and both apps can be found on the Taiwan App Store. Neither has a direct New Taiwan dollar deposit, so in both cases you first buy USDT on a Taiwanese exchange and then transfer it over.
Which is safer, OKX or Gate?
Neither can be called absolutely safe, and for neither did we find a major public incident of platform wallets being hacked. OKX halted withdrawals for about 41 days in 2020, and its operating entity pleaded guilty in the US on 2025-02-24; Gate suspended trading on 2025-04-23 for an emergency futures system upgrade and promised compensation. On reserves, OKX publishes monthly, and in the edition with a data time of 2026-10-03, platform assets exceeded user assets for BTC, ETH and USDT; Gate’s latest announced snapshot, from 2026-08-19, shows BTC at 122.79%, with no update frequency stated.
Which gives a bigger referral code rebate?
See the comparison table and calculators above for the current rates, which display in sync with the exchanges. Since the VIP 0 futures Taker rate is 0.05% on both, whichever has the higher rebate rate is cheaper after the rebate. By the rules, OKX officially states that the invitee rebate ranges from 0% to 20%, with no rebate at VIP 7 or above; on Gate, there’s no time limit while the referral relationship exists, and no rebate at VIP 11 or above.
I’ve already signed up. Can I still add or change a referral code?
Neither lets you add one later, but OKX has a way to switch and Gate doesn’t. On OKX, you can submit a switching request through an affiliate’s recall link or channel ID; the system reviews it automatically, requests must be 30 days apart, and it’s available only in some regions. Alternatively, after your account has been inactive for 180 days, you can log in through a new affiliate’s link. We found no official Gate process for adding or switching a code, and the “you can bind on Gate within 7 days” claim online refers to Gate Wallet, not the exchange account.
What’s the maximum futures leverage on OKX and Gate?
BTC and ETH go up to 200x on Gate and up to 100x on OKX (official APIs, 2026-10-21). The maximum leverage applies only to the first position tier: up to 10 BTC for BTC on OKX, and up to 500,000 USDT on Gate. For other crypto contracts, the most common cap is 20x on OKX and 50x on Gate. The higher the leverage, the closer your liquidation price is to your entry price.
Which network should I use to send USDT from OKX to Gate?
Aptos is the most convenient: 0.00088 USDT to withdraw from OKX (2026-10-21), and 0.04 USDT in the other direction from Gate (2026-10-18). OKX has no BEP20; TRC20 costs 1.5 USDT on both, with a 10 USDT minimum, so it’s best avoided. Before sending, check that the receiving side’s deposit page has the same network open.
To sign up directly, see the OKX referral code and the Gate referral code; for rate details, see OKX fees and Gate fees; if you already have an account, the switching rules are in the OKX referral code switching guide and the Gate referral code switching guide. Each exchange’s actual fees after the rebate are listed in actual fees after referral code rebates, which exchange has the lowest fees in low-fee exchanges compared, and how much you can save in a year in how much a referral code rebate can save you; for other exchanges’ referral codes and rebates, see all exchange referral codes. To compare other pairs, see Binance vs OKX, OKX vs Bybit, Bitget vs OKX, OKX vs KuCoin, Binance vs Gate and Bitget vs Gate.