OKX vs MEXC: Fees, Referral Rebates, Switching Codes, Safety and Taiwan Access Compared (2026)

Updated 2026-10-15・Rules checked 2026-10-13

The biggest difference between OKX and MEXC is fees. For regular users (VIP 0) on USDT-margined futures, MEXC’s standard rate is a maker fee of 0% and a taker fee of 0.02%, while OKX charges 0.02% / 0.05%; on major-coin spot, MEXC is 0% / 0.05% and OKX is 0.08% / 0.1%. MEXC, however, sets fees separately for each trading pair and each contract: in MEXC’s public contract specifications read on 2026-10-12, most USDT contracts were 0% / 0.02%, but some were 0.01% / 0.04% or higher, and the taker fee on small-cap spot pairs is often 0.08% or 0.2%. The referral code rules work the other way around: on MEXC you can add a code yourself within 30 days of sign-up, but once it’s bound it can’t be changed; on OKX you can’t add one after sign-up, but there is an official switching request.

Choose MEXC if you mainly trade futures, often use market orders, or only thought of a referral code after signing up: with 200,000 USDT of futures volume a month, all as taker, you pay 60 USDT less on MEXC than on OKX. Choose OKX if you want options, OKX’s own Web3 wallet or a wider range of trading bots, or want to keep the option of switching referrers later. Neither exchange has any major public incident of its platform wallets being hacked, neither is on the anti-money-laundering registration list of Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC, 金融監督管理委員會), and neither offers a direct way to deposit New Taiwan dollars (TWD).

Sign up for OKX with the referral code KEVINWU and the exchange automatically refunds 20% of your fees, on both maker and taker orders.

Sign up for MEXC with the referral code mexc-KEVINWU and the exchange automatically refunds 20%, calculated on the fees you actually pay after discounts.

The information below was checked against both exchanges’ official pages on 2026-10-13 and is provided for reference.

What’s the difference between OKX and MEXC?

Item	OKX	MEXC
Spot maker / taker (VIP 0)	0.08% / 0.1%	0% / 0.05% (major coins; many small-cap pairs have a taker fee of 0.08% or 0.2%, and some pairs are zero-fee)
USDT-margined futures maker / taker (VIP 0)	0.02% / 0.05%	0% / 0.02% (most USDT contracts; some are 0.01% / 0.04% or higher, and some are zero-fee)
Platform token discount	None; OKX states that OKB can’t be used to pay trading fees	MX discount of 20%, on both spot and futures; the 50% discount for holding 500 MX has been suspended since 2026-02-09
Referral code rebate	20%	20%
Adding a referral code after sign-up	Not possible	A main account with no referrer can add one itself within 30 days of sign-up
Switching	You can submit a switching request (automatic review, undisclosed criteria, 30-day cooldown), or be reassigned after 180 days of inactivity	Can’t be changed or removed once bound; no official way to switch
Identity verification requirements	Without identity verification, you can’t deposit, withdraw or trade on C2C	Two levels, Primary and Advanced; depending on the regulations where you live, unverified accounts may be unable to deposit, withdraw or trade
Withdrawal limits without verification	Withdrawals not allowed	Withdrawing prompts you to verify first; after verification, 80 BTC a day at Primary, 200 BTC at Advanced
Accounts per ID document	1	Up to 2
Taiwan FSC registration	Not on the FSC anti-money-laundering registration list (2026-09-29 list)	Not on the FSC anti-money-laundering registration list (2026-09-29 list)
TWD deposits	TWD C2C stopped from 2024-06-24; buy USDT on a local platform first, then transfer it in	TWD isn’t among the 60 fiat currencies supported on P2P; buy USDT on a local platform first, then transfer it in
Copy trading / grid	Copy trading; OKX lists 11 trading bot strategies, including spot and futures grids, martingale and signal bots	Futures copy trading (including AI traders), futures grid, spot grid, spot recurring buy
Copy trading profit share	Up to 30% depending on the lead trader’s level; fees are deducted before net profit is calculated; settled every Monday	10% by default, lead traders can apply to adjust it, up to 50% in private mode; settled daily
Perpetual contracts (2026-10-12)	485	1,098
Cheapest USDT withdrawal network and fee	Plasma (USDT0) 0.0000066 USDT (minimum 2); TRC20 1.5, ERC20 0.55; no BEP20	Plasma 0 USDT (minimum 10); BEP20 0.01, TRC20 0.5, ERC20 0.094
Proof of reserves (latest snapshot)	47th report, September 2026: BTC 109%, ETH 101%, USDT 105%	2026-09-10: BTC 297%, ETH 111%, USDT 119% (audited by Hacken)
Major security incidents	No major public incident of platform wallets being hacked; 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; in 2025, about 3.1 million USD of one trader’s funds was frozen under risk-control rules, followed by an apology and unfreezing on 2025-10-31

Fee sources: the OKX fee page, the MEXC fee overview, the MEXC futures calculation guide, the MEXC contract specifications and the MEXC announcement on changes to the MX fee discount. Identity verification comes from OKX’s guide to verifying an individual account and the MEXC KYC FAQ. Perpetual contract counts are the contracts actively settling funding, read from both exchanges’ official APIs on 2026-10-12 (OKX’s count includes stocks and other non-crypto contracts). USDT withdrawal fees were read on 2026-10-12 from the OKX withdrawal fee page and the MEXC fee overview, and they change with network conditions. Sources for the other rows are given in the matching sections below.

How much do OKX and MEXC fees differ?

Take a trader doing 200,000 USDT in USDT-margined futures and 20,000 USDT in major-coin spot each month, all at the official VIP 0 standard rates:

Monthly fees (USDT)	OKX	MEXC	MEXC (MX discount on)
Futures 200,000, all taker	100	40	32
Spot 20,000, all taker	20	10	8
Total (all taker)	120	50	40
Total (all switched to maker)	56	0	0

The fee is the trade value times the rate: on futures, OKX is 200,000 × 0.05% = 100 USDT and MEXC is 200,000 × 0.02% = 40 USDT; on spot, OKX is 20,000 × 0.1% = 20 USDT and MEXC is 20,000 × 0.05% = 10 USDT. With all limit orders, OKX charges 200,000 × 0.02% = 40 USDT on futures and 20,000 × 0.08% = 16 USDT on spot, while MEXC’s maker fee is 0 on both. For the same volume, all as taker, OKX costs 70 USDT more, 2.4 times what you pay on MEXC.

But MEXC’s 0.02% and 0.05% are the rates for “most” trading pairs, so check before you trade small caps. According to data read on 2026-10-11 for this site’s MEXC fees guide, of 1,088 USDT-settled contracts, 884 were 0% / 0.02% and 108 were zero-fee; most of the rest were 0.01% / 0.04%, and a few small caps were 0.04% / 0.1%. Run the same example on a 0.04% contract and MEXC costs 80 USDT, still less than OKX’s 100 USDT; on a 0.1% small-cap contract it costs 200 USDT, twice what OKX charges. Spot is similar: of 1,984 spot trading pairs, 1,116 have a taker fee of 0.08% and 178 have 0.2%, and the latter is more expensive than OKX’s 0.1%. MEXC’s fee page also notes that fees may be adjusted for promotions or by region, so before you place an order, go by the trading page and your trade history.

There are three more things to know about MEXC. First, from 2026-06-01, futures orders placed through the API are charged a separate 0.06% / 0.08%, don’t get the website and app discounts, and earn no rebate (MEXC announcement on API futures fees). Second, new users in Chinese-speaking regions and Malaysia who complete Advanced verification get a zero-fee allowance on BTC, ETH and GOLD futures of up to 3 million USD in total, and MEXC reserves the right to change or end it at any time (MEXC announcement on futures fee changes for new users, 2026-06-04). Third, the MEXC zero-fee spot trading FAQ (2025-12-23) says all spot trading is zero-fee, which doesn’t match the 0.05% on the fee page; this site goes by the fee page. Zero-fee trades have no fee to refund, so they earn no rebate.

Both exchanges let you make sure your order is a maker order: OKX calls it “Post only”, and MEXC futures calls it Post-Only; the details are in Maker vs Taker fees. Only MEXC has a usable platform token discount: the MX discount brings the futures taker fee down from 0.02% to 0.016%, but you have to move MX into your futures account first and carry the MX price risk yourself. Futures fees are charged on position value, not margin; leverage magnifies the position, and if the price moves against you, your position may be liquidated and you can lose your margin.

VIP tiers don’t close the gap, and MEXC invitees can’t become VIP

OKX VIP 1 requires 100,000 USD in account assets, or 1 million USD in 30-day spot volume or 5 million USD in futures volume; at VIP 1, futures are 0.016% / 0.045% and spot is 0.0675% / 0.08% (OKX fee page). In the same example, OKX VIP 1 costs 200,000 × 0.045% + 20,000 × 0.08% = 106 USDT, still more than the 50 USDT on MEXC VIP 0. Since 2025-03-27, MEXC has looked only at trading volume: VIP 1 takes 10 million USDT a month in spot plus futures, and MEXC states that affiliates and invited users can’t join the VIP program (MEXC VIP program upgrade announcement). If your monthly volume really reaches tens of millions of USDT, decide first whether you want MEXC VIP or the referral code rebate; on OKX, invitees keep their rebate after moving up VIP tiers, and a monthly cap only applies at VIP 5 and VIP 6.

Other costs: when a position is liquidated, OKX charges the taker fee of your current tier (OKX trading fee FAQ), while MEXC’s futures fee guide doesn’t state a liquidation fee rate. Funding rates are paid between longs and shorts and aren’t trading fees. Both exchanges settle every 8 hours by default; in the official APIs read on 2026-10-12, 44% of OKX perpetual contracts settled every 4 hours, versus 49% on MEXC, and the BTC contract’s funding rate cap and floor were ±0.375% on OKX and ±0.18% on MEXC (OKX perpetual funding fee rules, MEXC funding rate guide); see what the funding rate is. For full fee schedules, VIP tables and withdrawal fees, see OKX fees and MEXC fees; for how futures costs add up, see how futures fees are calculated, and you can try your own numbers in the perpetual futures cost calculator.

A referral code rebate refunds part of the fees you actually pay, and both exchanges calculate it on net fees. Each of the two calculators below uses that exchange’s official futures taker fee, and the rebate rates update in sync with the exchanges.

Calculator: OKX futures (taker 0.05%)

Example at a futures fee rate of 0.05% and the current 20% automatic rebate (rate updated 2026-10-23). Your exchange statement prevails.

Sign up with this site’s OKX referral code and the exchange’s automatic rebate is 20%, on both maker and taker orders. OKX has no platform token discount, so the rebate is calculated directly on the net fees you actually pay.

Calculator: MEXC futures (taker 0.02%)

Example at a futures fee rate of 0.02% and the current 20% automatic rebate (rate updated 2026-10-23). Your exchange statement prevails.

Sign up with this site’s MEXC referral code and the exchange’s automatic rebate is 20%. MEXC’s maker fee is 0, so the rebate only comes from taker orders; with the MX discount on, the rebate is calculated on the amount you actually pay after the 20% discount.

Rebates refund a percentage of your fees. OKX’s fees are higher to begin with, so the same percentage returns a larger amount, but after the rebate you still pay more than on MEXC. Enter your monthly futures volume into both calculators above to compare, and every exchange’s fees after rebates are compiled in actual fees after referral rebates.

How do OKX and MEXC referral code rebate rules differ?

On both exchanges, the rebate is paid to the invitee directly by the exchange, and the cap on the invitee’s share is the same: OKX states that the invitee’s rebate rate is between 0% and 20%, and MEXC states that affiliates can pass on up to 20% of fees to invitees. The differences are in the exclusions, the VIP rules, and whether you can fix a wrong or missing referral code afterward:

Rule	OKX	MEXC
Calculation base	Net fees	Net fees = fees − bonuses − vouchers − other discounts; the rebate is calculated on the amount after the MX discount; paid before 01:00 (UTC) the day after the trade
Duration	OKX doesn’t state a duration for the invitee’s rebate	Not disclosed officially
VIP limits	Monthly cap at VIP 5 and VIP 6; no rebate at VIP 7 and above	Invited users can’t join the MEXC VIP program
Trades that earn no rebate	Fee-free coins; fees covered by rebate cards, futures trial bonuses or vouchers; special fee rates; broker and market maker accounts	Zero-fee maker orders, zero-fee trading pairs, API orders, fees covered by futures bonuses and vouchers, abnormal trading
Can you check the binding yourself?	“My rewards” shows your rebate rate; even 0% means a code is bound	“Invite friends” → “My inviter” shows your referrer
Adding a code later	Can’t be added or changed once the account is created	Within 30 days of sign-up, on a main account with no referrer; your referrer must have signed up before you
Switching referrers	Switching request: via an affiliate’s recall link or channel ID, reviewed automatically, usually processed within 24 hours, 30 days between requests, available only in some regions; or log in through a new affiliate’s link after 180 days of inactivity	Can’t be changed or removed once bound; no official rules for switching requests, verification transfers or reassignment after inactivity
Opening another account	OKX states that deleting your account and signing up again just to use a referral code may be treated as a violation	Up to 2 accounts per person can complete identity verification; the terms ban mass registration for extra benefits; commission from self-referrals is canceled

OKX’s rules come from the OKX affiliate FAQ, the OKX affiliate FAQ (EEA version), the OKX affiliate program rules and the OKX referral program FAQ; MEXC’s from the MEXC referral rules, the MEXC affiliate FAQ, the MEXC commission sharing announcement, the MEXC guide to self-service referrer binding and the MEXC terms of service.

The two exchanges give you a second chance at different points. MEXC is more forgiving at the start: if you forgot to enter a code, you can still add one on the self-service inviter binding page within 30 days of sign-up, but once it’s bound there’s no official way to change it. On OKX, a code you didn’t enter at sign-up can’t be added later, but there are two other routes, the switching request and 180 days of inactivity. OKX’s global affiliate FAQ still says that channel attribution can’t be changed once assigned, which contradicts the switching process, so whether you can switch depends on the review result on the switching page. OKX has one more easy trap: if you clicked a referral link or downloaded an app carrying a referral code in the past 30 days, that code may already be tied to your device, and downloading the app before signing up can also make the binding fail. The details are in the OKX referral switch guide, the MEXC referral switch guide and how to check whether a referral code is bound.

Fee vouchers issued by the exchanges also affect your rebate: both state that fees covered by vouchers or trial bonuses earn no rebate. On MEXC, discounts apply in the order vouchers, trial bonuses, then the MX discount; vouchers only cover USDT-margined futures, and they can only be used when a single trade’s fee is smaller than the voucher balance (MEXC guide to futures bonuses and vouchers). On OKX, fees covered by rebate cards or trial bonuses earn no rebate (OKX rebate card terms). For how to weigh the two, see fee vouchers vs referral code rebates.

Do OKX and MEXC both require identity verification? What should users in Taiwan know?

Identity verification: OKX states that without identity verification you can’t deposit, withdraw or trade on C2C, and after verification your 24-hour withdrawal limit depends on your fee tier (OKX identity verification FAQ). MEXC has two levels, Primary and Advanced, and the daily withdrawal limit for verified accounts is 80 BTC at Primary and 200 BTC at Advanced; its KYC FAQ states that depending on the regulations where you live, unverified accounts may be unable to deposit, withdraw or trade, and if you try to withdraw without verification, the system asks you to verify first (2026-06-02 version). The number of accounts differs too: on OKX one ID document can verify only one account, on MEXC up to two. In practice, both require identity verification before you can withdraw normally. For the documents each exchange requires, the verification steps and review times, see the OKX KYC guide and the MEXC KYC guide.

FSC registration: the list updated on 2026-09-29 in the Securities and Futures Bureau’s “virtual asset service providers” section shows 11 companies that have completed anti-money-laundering registration, and neither OKX nor MEXC is on the FSC anti-money-laundering registration list. The practical effect is that disputes with either exchange aren’t covered by Taiwan’s Securities and Futures Investors Protection Center or the Financial Ombudsman Institution (FSC statement of 2022-11-23), and a frozen account or restricted withdrawals can only be handled under the platform’s own terms.

TWD deposits and withdrawals: neither exchange offers direct TWD bank deposits. OKX announced on 2024-06-07 that from 2024-06-24, users in Taiwan could no longer trade TWD on C2C (OKX announcement on removing C2C trading in Taiwan); when we read the currency list on MEXC P2P on 2026-10-11, TWD wasn’t among its 60 fiat currencies. The workable route is the same for both: buy USDT with TWD on a registered local platform, such as MAX or BitoPro, then transfer it to the exchange, and reverse the route to cash out. The cheapest network for transferring to MAX is Aptos (0.0012 USDT) from OKX and Avalanche C-Chain (0.000074 USDT) from MEXC; OKX has no BEP20, so if you usually use BEP20 you’ll need to switch networks. Fees for each network are in the USDT withdrawal fee comparison. The FSC’s plan of 2026-08-04 says the transfer rules (Travel Rule) are expected to extend to transfers between domestic and offshore providers by the end of 2027, after which the process for moving coins between local platforms and offshore exchanges may change.

Regions and apps: Taiwan isn’t among the restricted regions listed in the OKX risk and compliance disclosure (updated 2026-07-08) or the MEXC terms of use (2025-05-29 version). When we checked, both apps were available on the Taiwan App Store, the OKX app and the MEXC app, and both websites have Traditional Chinese versions. MEXC’s terms are among the older versions of the 13 exchanges, and they state that the list may change at any time. Which countries each exchange restricts is covered in exchange restricted countries.

What are OKX and MEXC each best at?

OKX is strongest on trading bots, options and on-chain tools. Its official trading bot overview lists 11 strategies, and the signal bot can place orders automatically from TradingView signals; OKX also has its own non-custodial Web3 wallet.

• Trading bots: spot grid, futures grid, futures martingale, smart arbitrage, spot martingale, recurring buy, signal bot, iceberg, TWAP, smart portfolio and arbitrage order (OKX trading bot overview).
• Copy trading: the profit share is up to 30% depending on the lead trader’s level, calculated on net profit after trading fees; it’s withheld when a profitable trade closes, settled every Monday at 00:00 on the whole week’s net profit, and any excess is refunded. Copy trading fees are the same as regular futures, with no other charges (OKX lead trader profit-sharing rules, OKX copy trading FAQ).
• Web3 wallet: you keep your own private keys, and no identity verification is needed to use it; if you lose your seed phrase, your assets can’t be recovered (what is the OKX Web3 wallet).
• Other: options (VIP 0 maker and taker both 0.03%), Simple Earn and Jumpstart; stablecoin spot pairs such as USDC-USDT are currently fee-free.

MEXC is strongest on fees and the number of contracts. On 2026-10-12, MEXC had 1,098 perpetual contracts actively settling funding, versus 485 on OKX, so people who want to trade small-cap futures have more choice; the catch is that small-cap contracts often aren’t 0.02%, as worked out above.

• Copy trading: futures copy trading, with AI traders you can also copy (MEXC copy trading). The profit share is 10% by default, lead traders can apply to adjust it, and it goes up to 50% in private mode; the previous day is settled daily between 00:00 and 01:00, the profit share is frozen when a profitable trade closes, and settlement moves to the next day if you still hold positions (MEXC profit share rules). Copy orders are placed as IOC limit orders and canceled if they can’t fill within the slippage range (MEXC copy trading terms explained).
• Trading bots: futures grid (long, short or neutral, from 10 USDT, MEXC futures grid), spot grid and spot recurring buy.
• Other: Earn (MEXC Earn), Launchpad, pre-market trading, US stock futures, DEX+ on-chain trading and demo trading. The product list in MEXC’s website footer doesn’t include options.

Copy trading costs more than the profit share. Copy orders usually fill immediately and pay the taker fee (MEXC’s IOC orders don’t rest on the order book, so they’re never maker orders), and if you copy a lead trader who trades often, the fees may exceed the profit share; here MEXC’s 0.02% beats OKX’s 0.05%. On the profit-share rules, OKX is clearer: it states that fees are deducted before net profit is calculated, while MEXC’s profit share rules don’t say whether profit and loss are calculated after fees. Neither exchange states whether fees from copy trading earn a referral code rebate. The full calculation and examples are in the cost of copy trading.

How do OKX and MEXC compare on proof of reserves and security record?

Both publish proof of reserves monthly, and both let users confirm with a Merkle tree that their account is included:

• OKX: the 47th report, September 2026, shows BTC 109%, ETH 101% and USDT 105%, verified with zk-STARK and covering 22 coins; about 4.43% of the BTC is held with third-party custodians, which has to be confirmed with the custodian and can’t be checked on-chain yourself (OKX proof of reserves page).
• MEXC: audited monthly by the security firm Hacken; the 2026-09-10 snapshot shows BTC 297%, ETH 111%, USDT 119% and USDC 111% (MEXC proof of reserves, MEXC press release). A high reserve ratio doesn’t mean a large scale: in this report, users held 4,106.57 BTC and the platform held 12,202.13 BTC.

As for major incidents, neither has any major public incident of its platform wallets being hacked, but OKX has halted withdrawals, MEXC has faced controversy over freezing user funds, and both have regulatory records:

• 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, after about 41 days. OKX later set aside 20% of its futures and perpetual fee revenue for the seven weeks from 10-16 to 12-04 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 fines and forfeiture totaling more than 504 million USD (US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York).
• MEXC’s 2025 freeze controversy: in July 2025, MEXC froze about 3.1 million USD of one trader’s funds under risk-control rules; after the case went public, MEXC’s chief strategy officer apologized on 2025-10-31, said the funds had been unfrozen, and said MEXC would set up a fast track for account issues (DL News, Cointelegraph).
• Regulation elsewhere: Thailand’s SEC has blocked OKX since 2025-06-28 (The Block); the unregistered platforms named by the Philippine SEC in August 2025 include OKX and MEXC (Cointelegraph); Japan’s Financial Services Agency issued warnings to MEXC for operating without registration twice, on 2023-03-31 and 2024-11-28, and in February 2025 asked Apple and Google to remove MEXC and other apps in Japan (Japan FSA, The Defiant); India’s list of unregistered platforms served notices on 2023-12-28 also includes MEXC (The Statesman).

MEXC has a Guardian Fund, which a press release at the end of September 2026 put at 100 million USDT plus 2,000 BTC (MEXC press release); MEXC itself states that the Guardian Fund is a company commitment, not a statutory compensation scheme (MEXC security overview). We found no separate user protection fund for OKX. The two carry different kinds of risk: OKX’s record is a platform-wide withdrawal halt of 41 days, while MEXC’s controversy is about individual accounts frozen by risk control. If your account trades large volume and moves funds in and out often, read MEXC’s risk-control terms first. Proof of reserves only reflects assets at the moment of the snapshot and isn’t deposit insurance; coins you don’t trade for long periods can go to a wallet you control yourself. For the records of all 13 exchanges side by side, see exchange safety record and exchange proof of reserves compared.

OKX or MEXC: which should you choose?

• Beginners mainly buying major-coin spot: MEXC. BTC and ETH spot is maker 0% and taker 0.05%, versus 0.08% / 0.1% on OKX, and if you forget to enter a referral code, you can still add it yourself within 30 days of sign-up.
• Futures, with frequent market orders: MEXC. The taker fee on major contracts is 0.02% versus 0.05% on OKX, a 60 USDT difference on 200,000 USDT of futures volume a month; even at OKX VIP 1, the taker fee is still 0.045%.
• Copy trading: if fees are all that matter, MEXC, since copy orders are almost always taker orders and 0.02% is cheaper than 0.05%; if transparent rules matter more, OKX, which states that the profit share is calculated after fees and settled weekly on the whole week’s net profit.
• Lowest fees above all: MEXC, using limit orders where you can and the MX discount; check the fee before trading small caps, since 0.1% contracts and 0.2% spot pairs cost more than OKX.
• Options, a Web3 wallet or a range of trading bots: OKX. The product list on MEXC’s website doesn’t include options, while OKX has 11 trading bot strategies and a Web3 wallet where you keep your own private keys.
• Taiwan regulatory compliance matters to you: neither is on the FSC registration list. Use a registered local platform for TWD deposits, withdrawals and long-term holding, and turn to an offshore exchange only when you need futures, copy trading or more coins.

Plenty of traders open accounts on both: everyday futures and major coins on the lower-fee MEXC, and options, trading bots and on-chain activity on OKX, which also spreads the risk of a single platform halting withdrawals. You need to complete identity verification on each, and enter the referral code at each sign-up; MEXC gives you a 30-day window to add one later, OKX doesn’t.

Still weighing other exchanges? To compare OKX with Binance, which has the most coins and futures, see Binance vs OKX. Each exchange’s fees, rebates, proof of reserves and restricted regions are covered in full in the OKX review and the MEXC review.

How do you transfer from OKX to MEXC, and what does it cost?

There is no internal transfer between the two, so USDT has to go out as an on-chain withdrawal: first go to the deposit page on the receiving exchange, choose USDT and a network and copy the address, then go to the withdrawal page on the sending exchange, choose the same network and paste it. The sending exchange charges the withdrawal fee, a fixed amount per withdrawal no matter how much you send. According to the OKX withdrawal fee page and the MEXC fee overview as of 2026-10-12, the cheapest networks open on both sides are:

• OKX → MEXC: use Aptos, 0.0012 USDT (minimum withdrawal 2 USDT).
• MEXC → OKX: use Avalanche C-Chain, 0.000074 USDT (minimum withdrawal 4 USDT). MEXC’s cheapest network, BEP20, can’t be received on OKX; MEXC’s Plasma costs 0 USDT, but OKX labels Plasma as USDT0 and MEXC doesn’t, so check the contract address on the deposit page first.

On the commonly used TRC20, OKX charges 1.5 USDT and MEXC 0.5 USDT. Fees can change at any time, so go by the amount shown on the withdrawal page before you confirm, and make sure the receiving exchange’s deposit page offers the same network; if you pick the wrong network, the funds may not be recoverable. For every network’s fee and minimum withdrawal at 13 exchanges, see USDT withdrawal fees compared.

How the data in this article was checked

Fees, platform token discounts, identity verification and the rules for adding and switching codes were all checked against both exchanges’ official help centers and fee pages on 2026-10-13; the distribution of MEXC futures and spot fees, USDT withdrawal fees and funding settlement intervals are figures read from official pages and public APIs between 2026-10-11 and 10-12; reserve figures come from each exchange’s most recent report; and the withdrawal halt and freeze cases were cross-checked against official announcements and news reports. How this site compiles its data is described in how the rebate data is compiled, and the disclosure for referral links is in referral and rebate disclosure.

FAQ

Which has lower fees, OKX or MEXC?

On major coins and major contracts, MEXC is much cheaper. At VIP 0, MEXC futures are maker 0% and taker 0.02%, and OKX 0.02% / 0.05%; on spot, MEXC is 0% / 0.05% and OKX 0.08% / 0.1%. With 200,000 USDT in futures plus 20,000 USDT in spot a month, all as taker, you pay 50 USDT on MEXC and 120 USDT on OKX. The exception is some of MEXC’s small caps: some contracts are 0.04% / 0.1%, and some spot pairs have a 0.2% taker fee, in which case OKX is actually cheaper.

Can I use OKX and MEXC at the same time?

Yes. They’re separate companies, so you just register and verify your identity on each. The limits apply within each exchange: on OKX one ID document can verify only one account, on MEXC up to two. Referral codes are bound separately: on OKX only at sign-up, on MEXC within 30 days of sign-up. To move USDT between them, withdraw on-chain; OKX has no BEP20, so pick a network both support.

Should users in Taiwan pick OKX or MEXC?

Their status in Taiwan is about the same, so it comes down to how you trade: MEXC if you mainly trade futures and major coins, OKX if you need options, a Web3 wallet or trading bots. Neither is on the FSC anti-money-laundering registration list (2026-09-29 list), neither offers direct TWD deposits, and neither lists Taiwan as a restricted region; for both, you deposit by buying USDT on a local platform first and transferring it over.

Which is safer, OKX or MEXC?

Neither can be called completely safe. Neither has any major public incident of its platform wallets being hacked, but each has other records. OKX halted withdrawals for about 41 days in 2020, and its operating company pleaded guilty in the US in 2025; in 2025, MEXC froze about 3.1 million USD of one trader’s funds and later apologized and unfroze them, and Japan’s Financial Services Agency has issued warnings to MEXC twice. On reserves, OKX’s BTC ratio was 109% in September 2026, and MEXC’s was 297% on 2026-09-10.

Which gives a bigger referral code rebate?

Both cap the invitee’s rebate at the same 20%, and after the rebate, MEXC still costs less for the same volume. For the current rates, see “OKX vs MEXC at a glance” and the calculators above, which stay in sync with the exchanges. On the rules, MEXC calculates the rebate on net fees after the MX discount and pays it the next day, maker orders at 0% earn no rebate, and invited users can’t join MEXC VIP; OKX calculates it on net fees, a monthly cap only applies at VIP 5 and VIP 6, and there’s no rebate at VIP 7 and above.

To sign up directly, see the OKX referral code and the MEXC referral code; fee details are in OKX fees and MEXC fees; if you already have an account, the switching rules are in the OKX referral switch guide and the MEXC referral switch guide. What you actually pay on each exchange after rebates is compiled in actual fees after referral rebates, the cheapest exchanges are in lowest-fee crypto exchanges, and other exchanges’ referral codes and rebates are in the exchange referral code overview. To compare other pairs, see Bitget vs OKX, OKX vs Bybit, Bitget vs MEXC and MEXC vs Gate.