Updated Rules checked 2026-10-17
For regular users (VIP 0) on OKX and KuCoin, the futures maker fee is 0.02% on both. The difference is the taker fee: 0.05% on OKX and 0.06% on KuCoin, so on the same 10,000 USDT market order KuCoin charges 1 USDT more. Spot differs even more. OKX spot is maker 0.08% and taker 0.1% for every coin; KuCoin sorts coins into classes A, B and C, with class A at 0.1% and classes B and C at 0.2% and 0.3%, and in KuCoin’s official data on 2026-10-17, 481 of its 968 trading pairs were class B or C. The platform tokens differ too: OKX states that OKB can’t be used to pay trading fees, while KuCoin’s KCS takes 20% off spot and margin fees, but not futures.
On referral code rules, OKX documents its fixes more clearly. OKX doesn’t let you add a code after sign-up, but it offers two routes, an official switching request and reassignment after 180 days of inactivity, and you can check in “My rewards” whether a code is bound to your account. On KuCoin, if you skipped the code at sign-up, you can submit a Link Referrer request under Self-Service in the Help Center, and if you already have a referrer, you can request Unlink Referrer; KuCoin reviews both and doesn’t publish the time limit or conditions (checked 2026-10-22). On security, about 281 million USD was stolen from KuCoin’s hot wallets on 2020-09-25; 84% was recovered and the insurance fund covered the rest. OKX has no major public incident of its platform wallets being hacked, but it halted withdrawals for about 41 days in 2020. Both exchanges’ operating entities have pleaded guilty in the United States.
Choose OKX if you often use market orders on futures, mainly trade major coins, or want to keep the option of switching referrers later; moving USDT between the two is also much cheaper out of OKX (Aptos 0.0011 USDT, versus at least 0.4 USDT out of KuCoin). KuCoin gives you more choice if the small-cap coin you want is only listed there, you want more crypto futures, or you want up to 125x on BTC: it lists 814 spot coins, nearly twice OKX’s 445, and 518 crypto perpetual contracts against OKX’s 287. Neither exchange 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 spot and futures, paid back directly by OKX.
Sign up for KuCoin with the referral code KEVINWU and the exchange automatically refunds 60% of your fees on spot (including margin) and futures.
Key points:
1. The futures maker fee is 0.02% on both; the taker fee is 0.05% on OKX and 0.06% on KuCoin. Spot is 0.08% / 0.1% on OKX; on KuCoin, class A is 0.1%, class B 0.2% and class C 0.3%.
2. OKX has no platform token discount; KuCoin’s KCS discount covers only spot and margin (class A becomes 0.08%), not futures.
3. On OKX, the referral code can only be entered at sign-up, and there’s an official switching request (automatic review, 30 days between requests); on KuCoin, you can submit a Link Referrer or Unlink Referrer request after sign-up, which KuCoin reviews under conditions it doesn’t publish.
4. On 2020-09-25, about 281 million USD was stolen from KuCoin’s hot wallets, 84% was recovered and the insurance fund covered the rest; OKX has no major public incident of its platform wallets being hacked, and halted withdrawals for about 41 days in 2020.
5. Moving USDT between them costs only 0.0011 USDT out of OKX via Aptos, while the cheapest option out of KuCoin is Plasma at 0.4 USDT; ERC20 out of KuCoin costs 5.5 USDT with a 30 USDT minimum withdrawal.
The information below was checked against official pages on 2026-10-17 (the fact-check date) and is provided for reference.
OKX vs KuCoin: what’s the difference?
| Item | OKX | KuCoin |
|---|---|---|
| Spot maker / taker (VIP 0) | 0.08% / 0.1%, the same for every coin | Class A 0.1% / 0.1%; class B 0.2%, class C 0.3% |
| Futures maker / taker (VIP 0) | 0.02% / 0.05% | 0.02% / 0.06% |
| Platform token discount | None; OKX states that OKB can’t be used to pay trading fees | KCS: 20% off spot and margin (class A 0.08%); not available for futures |
| VIP through account assets | 100,000 USD in assets is VIP 1: futures 0.016% / 0.045%, spot 0.0675% / 0.08% | The asset route starts at VIP 5 and needs 1,000,000 USDT; holding 1,000 KCS gets you VIP 1, but it lowers only the maker fee |
| Referral code rebate | 20% | 60% |
| Rebate duration and VIP limits | OKX doesn’t state a rebate duration for invitees; VIP 5 and VIP 6 have a monthly cap, and VIP 7 and above get no rebate | Affiliate program: lifetime for invitees who registered after 2022-09-22; the referral program says invitees at VIP 3 or above don’t generate commission |
| Adding a referral code after sign-up | Not possible; a code can’t be added or changed once the account is created | You can submit a Link Referrer request, which KuCoin reviews; the conditions aren’t published |
| Switching | You can submit a switching request (automatic review, undisclosed criteria, 30-day cooldown, available in some regions), or be reassigned after 180 days of inactivity | You can request Unlink Referrer, which KuCoin reviews; it doesn’t say whether you can then link a different referrer. Old accounts registered before 2023-08-31 and never verified may also be able to open a new account instead |
| Identity verification requirements | Without identity verification, you can’t deposit, withdraw, trade or buy and sell on C2C | Since 2023-08-31, all new users must verify; one person can verify only one account |
| Unverified accounts | Withdrawals not allowed | Old unverified accounts can’t deposit but can sell coins, close positions and redeem, and withdrawals are unaffected |
| TWD deposits | TWD C2C stopped from 2024-06-24; buy USDT on a Taiwanese exchange first, then transfer it in | No TWD listings on P2P (checked 2026-10-17); buy USDT on a Taiwanese exchange first, then transfer it in |
| Is Taiwan a restricted region? | No (Risk and Compliance Disclosure, 2026-07-08 version) | No (Terms of Use, 2026-09-29 version) |
| USDT perpetual contracts | 494: 287 crypto, 198 stocks, 9 commodities | 692: 518 crypto, 165 stocks, 9 metals and commodities |
| Maximum futures leverage | 100x (5 contracts: BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, XAU); the most common cap is 20x | 125x on BTC, 100x on ETH; the most common cap is 20x |
| Funding settlement | Of 494, 214 settle every 4 hours and 279 every 8 hours; BTC cap ±0.375% | Of 692, 430 settle every 4 hours and 260 every 8 hours; BTC cap ±0.3%, and 628 are capped at ±2% |
| Copy trading / grid | Futures copy trading; OKX lists 11 strategies, including spot and futures grids, martingale and signal bots | Futures copy trading only; spot grid, infinity grid, DCA, martingale, smart rebalance, futures grid |
| Copy trading profit share | Depends on the lead trader’s level; fees are deducted before net profit is calculated; settled every Monday | 10%–32% depending on trader level (from 2026-09-06); calculated after fees and funding fees, settled daily |
| Cheapest USDT withdrawal network and fee | Plasma (USDT0) 0.0000061 USDT (minimum 2); Aptos 0.0011, ERC20 0.35, TRC20 1.5; no BEP20 | Plasma 0.4 USDT (minimum 5); Aptos and TON 0.5, BEP20 1, TRC20 1.99, ERC20 5.5 (minimum 30) |
| Proof of reserves (latest snapshot) | Data as of 2026-10-03: platform assets exceed user assets for BTC, ETH and USDT, with 13,665.87 more BTC | 2026-09-30: BTC 109%, ETH 117%, USDT 110% |
| 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) | 2020-09-25: about 281 million USD stolen from hot wallets, 84% recovered, the rest covered by the insurance fund |
| US criminal case | Pleaded guilty on 2025-02-24; fines and forfeiture totaling more than 504 million USD | Pleaded guilty on 2025-01-27; fines and forfeiture totaling more than 297 million USD |
Fee sources: the OKX fee page, the OKX trading fee FAQ, the KuCoin VIP fee structure, KuCoin: how to become a VIP and KuCoin’s guide to paying fees with KCS. KuCoin’s fee classes were calculated from KuCoin’s official trading pair data read on 2026-10-17. Contract counts, leverage and funding settlement intervals count the live USDT perpetual contracts in both exchanges’ official public APIs read the same day (OKX contract list, OKX funding rates, KuCoin contract list), and they change as contracts are listed and delisted. USDT withdrawal fees were read on 2026-10-17 from the OKX withdrawal fee page and KuCoin’s official currency API. Sources for the other rows are given in the matching sections below.
How much do OKX and KuCoin fees differ?
Take a trader doing 200,000 USDT of USDT-margined futures and 20,000 USDT of spot each month, all at the official VIP 0 rates. KuCoin is shown three ways: spot in class A major coins only, class A with the KCS discount turned on, and spot entirely in class C small-cap coins.
| Monthly fees (USDT) | OKX | KuCoin (class A) | KuCoin (class A, KCS on) | KuCoin (class C) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Futures 200,000, all taker | 100 | 120 | 120 | 120 |
| Spot 20,000, all taker | 20 | 20 | 16 | 60 |
| Total (all taker) | 120 | 140 | 136 | 180 |
| Total (all switched to maker) | 56 | 60 | 56 | 100 |
The calculation is trade value times the fee rate: OKX futures come to 200,000 × 0.05% = 100 USDT, and KuCoin to 200,000 × 0.06% = 120 USDT. If every order is a maker order, futures are 0.02% on both, 40 USDT each, so only spot differs: OKX spot maker is 20,000 × 0.08% = 16 USDT; on KuCoin, VIP 0 spot maker and taker fees are the same, so class A is 20 USDT, 16 USDT with KCS, and class C comes to 20,000 × 0.3% = 60 USDT.
So a VIP 0 trader who often uses market orders pays 20 USDT more a month on KuCoin, all of it from the futures taker fee; KCS only discounts spot, so the gap is still 16 USDT with it on. Switch everything to maker orders and the two differ only on spot. Class C isn’t a rare exception: calculated from KuCoin’s official trading pair data on 2026-10-17, its 968 pairs include 487 in class A, 229 in class B and 252 in class C, so check which class a coin is in on the trading page before you place an order. Both exchanges let you make sure an order goes in as a maker order: OKX calls it “Post only”, and in KuCoin’s futures order types it’s Post Only, where the system cancels any order that would fill immediately (KuCoin futures order types); the details are in maker vs taker fees explained. Futures fees are calculated on position value, not on margin; leverage enlarges the position, and if the price moves against you, the position may be liquidated and you lose your margin.
Larger account balances: OKX’s VIP thresholds are much lower
OKX grants a VIP level when any one of assets, 30-day spot volume or futures volume meets the threshold, and you don’t need to hold OKB: 100,000 USD in assets is VIP 1, with futures at 0.016% / 0.045% and spot at 0.0675% / 0.08%; 200,000 USD is VIP 2, with futures at 0.015% / 0.036% and spot at 0.06% / 0.07% (OKX fee page). KuCoin’s asset route only starts at VIP 5 and needs 1,000,000 USDT; VIP 1 can be reached by holding 1,000 KCS, but VIP 1 and VIP 2 lower only the maker fee, and the futures taker fee doesn’t drop from 0.06% to 0.053% until VIP 4 (KuCoin: how to become a VIP).
Apply the same example: someone with 200,000 USD in their account is VIP 2 on OKX and pays 200,000 × 0.036% + 20,000 × 0.07% = 86 USDT a month, while on KuCoin they’re still VIP 0 and pay 140 USDT. KuCoin only reaches VIP 5 at 1,000,000 USDT, which costs 200,000 × 0.048% + 20,000 × 0.055% = 107 USDT, still more than OKX VIP 2. Look at rebates too: KuCoin’s referral program states that invitees stop generating commission once they reach VIP 3 or above, while OKX keeps calculating rebates normally up to VIP 4. Keep in mind, though, that upgrading through assets means keeping your money on the exchange long term, and you have to weigh that risk yourself.
How big a rebate does KuCoin need to match OKX’s fee?
A referral code rebate refunds part of the fees you actually pay. KuCoin’s futures taker fee is 0.01 percentage points higher than OKX’s, and the rebate has to make up that gap. Working backward: KuCoin’s effective fee = 0.06% × (1 − rebate rate), and for it to equal OKX’s 0.05% without a rebate, the rebate rate has to reach 1 − 0.05 ÷ 0.06 ≈ 16.7%. If you also get a rebate on OKX, the threshold rises, using the same formula: 1 − OKX effective fee ÷ 0.06%. OKX states that the rebate rate for invitees ranges from 0% to 20% (OKX affiliate FAQ).
The automatic exchange rebate for this site’s KuCoin referral code is currently 60%, so you can compare it directly with the threshold above.
Each calculator below uses that exchange’s official futures taker fee, and the rebate rate stays in sync with the exchange; enter the 200,000 USDT from the example above in each one 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%, covering spot, futures and options. OKX has no platform token discount, so the rebate is calculated straight from the net fees you actually pay.
Calculator: KuCoin futures (taker 0.06%)
| Monthly volume | Fees (0.06%) | Auto rebate (60%) | Net fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 USDT | 6 USDT | 3.6 USDT | 2.4 USDT |
| 100,000 USDT | 60 USDT | 36 USDT | 24 USDT |
| 1,000,000 USDT | 600 USDT | 360 USDT | 240 USDT |
Example at a futures fee rate of 0.06% and the current 60% automatic rebate (rate updated 2026-10-24). Your exchange statement prevails.
Sign up with this site’s KuCoin referral code and the exchange’s automatic rebate is 60%, calculated on the trading fees you actually pay. Class B and class C coins carry 2x and 3x the fee, and the rebate rises in proportion to the amount actually paid; KuCoin doesn’t state how the rebate is calculated on fees after the KCS discount.
Other costs: funding fees are paid between longs and shorts and aren’t trading fees. In the official APIs read on 2026-10-17, 214 of OKX’s 494 USDT perpetual contracts settle every 4 hours, against 430 of KuCoin’s 692. The funding rate caps differ more: 484 OKX contracts are capped at ±1%, while 628 KuCoin contracts are capped at ±2%; for BTC the cap is ±0.375% on OKX and ±0.3% on KuCoin (OKX perpetual funding rules, KuCoin funding fee guide). A 10,000 USDT small-cap position that hits the 2% cap pays 200 USDT in a single funding payment, so check the current rate before holding a small-cap futures position overnight. For the full fee rates, VIP tables and withdrawal fees, see OKX fees and KuCoin fees; for how to open a futures position and how leverage and liquidation prices work, see the OKX futures trading guide and the KuCoin futures trading guide, and you can run your own numbers in the perpetual futures cost calculator.
How do OKX and KuCoin referral rebate rules differ?
On both, the exchange pays the rebate directly to the invitee; OKX binds the code only at sign-up, and KuCoin adds one later only through a request it reviews. The differences are in VIP limits, whether you can check the binding yourself, and whether anything can be fixed after you enter the wrong code or none at all:
| Rule | OKX | KuCoin |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | Net fees | Trading fees actually paid |
| Markets covered | Spot, futures, options | Spot (including margin) and futures |
| Duration | OKX doesn’t state a rebate duration for invitees | Affiliate program: lifetime for invitees who registered after 2022-09-22; the regular referral program says referrers earn for 365 days |
| VIP limits | VIP 5 and VIP 6 have a monthly cap; VIP 7 and above get no rebate | Referral program: invitees at VIP 3 or above don’t generate commission; the affiliate program page gives two versions, Level 3 and LV4 |
| Trades that don’t earn a rebate | Zero-fee coins; fees offset with rebate cards, futures trial funds or vouchers; special fee rates; broker and market maker accounts | API trading, zero-fee trading |
| Can you check the binding yourself? | “My rewards” shows your rebate rate; even 0% means a code is bound | No official lookup for invitees; you can only see whether rebates arrive after you trade |
| Adding a referral code later | A code can’t be added or changed once the account is created | You can submit a Link Referrer request under Self-Service in the Help Center, which KuCoin reviews; the time limit and conditions aren’t published |
| Changing referrer | Switching request: through an affiliate’s recall link or channel ID, automatic review, 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 | You can request Unlink Referrer, which KuCoin reviews; it doesn’t say whether you can then link a different referrer. Old accounts that were never verified can open a new account after asking customer support first |
| Deleting your account and registering again | OKX states that deleting an account and registering again to use a referral code may be treated as a violation | Deletion is permanent and data is kept for 7 years; KuCoin doesn’t say whether the same identity can be verified again |
| Signing up in the app | If you download the app before signing up, the referral code may not bind; if you clicked someone else’s referral link within 30 days, a code may already be bound to your device | Nothing separate stated officially |
| Violations | Registering multiple accounts or using someone else’s account or identity documents breaks the rules | Registering accounts in bulk to earn commissions or rebates is prohibited, and KuCoin can revoke commissions |
OKX’s rules come from the OKX affiliate program rules, the OKX affiliate FAQ, the OKX affiliate FAQ (EEA version) and the OKX referral program FAQ; KuCoin’s come from the KuCoin referral program, the KuCoin affiliate program announcement, the KuCoin affiliate program 2025 guide, the KuCoin sign-up guide and KuCoin’s account deletion guide.
For anyone who already has 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, OKX’s global affiliate FAQ still says a channel assignment can’t be changed once it’s set, which doesn’t match the switching process, so whether you can switch depends on the result of the review on the switching page. On KuCoin, you can submit a Link Referrer or Unlink Referrer request under Self-Service in the Help Center, but both go through review, and KuCoin doesn’t publish the time limit, conditions or review time (checked 2026-10-22). Separately, an account registered before 2023-08-31 and never verified hasn’t used up the “one verified account per person” allowance, so you can ask customer support first and then register with a new email address through a new referral link; anyone who has already verified doesn’t have this option. So before you hit sign up on KuCoin, always check the referral code field first. For details, see how to switch your OKX referral code, how to switch your KuCoin referral code and how to check whether a referral code is bound.
Do OKX and KuCoin require identity verification? What should users in Taiwan know?
Identity verification: both require verification before you can use them normally. OKX states that without identity verification you can’t deposit or withdraw crypto or buy and sell on C2C; after verification, the 24-hour withdrawal limit depends on your fee tier, and the help page doesn’t give specific amounts (OKX identity verification FAQ). Since 2023-08-31, KuCoin has required new users to complete verification, and one person can verify only one account; old accounts registered before then and never verified can’t deposit and can only sell coins, close positions and redeem Earn products, though withdrawals are unaffected, and unverified accounts also can’t open or add to futures positions (KuCoin identity verification guide). For the steps and the documents to prepare, see the OKX KYC guide and the KuCoin KYC guide.
TWD deposits and withdrawals: neither offers direct TWD bank deposits. On 2024-06-07 OKX announced that from 2024-06-24, users in Taiwan could no longer buy or sell with TWD on C2C (OKX announcement on removing C2C trading in Taiwan); on 2026-10-17, the public listings on KuCoin P2P showed 0 USDT buy or sell ads in TWD, and the KuCoin fiat deposit and withdrawal fee table lists only the euro and the Brazilian real. The practical route is the same for both: buy USDT with TWD on a Taiwanese exchange (such as MAX or BitoPro), transfer it to OKX or KuCoin, and do the reverse to cash out. The cost of moving it back differs a lot: from OKX to MAX you can use Aptos for 0.0011 USDT, and to BitoPro, Polygon for 0.0095 USDT; from KuCoin, the cheapest route to MAX is Aptos at 0.5 USDT, and to BitoPro, Polygon at 0.8 USDT. OKX doesn’t support BEP20, so if you usually use BEP20 you’ll need to switch networks; the fees for each network are in USDT withdrawal fees compared.
Regions and apps: Taiwan isn’t among the restricted regions listed in the OKX Risk and Compliance Disclosure (updated 2026-07-08) or the KuCoin Terms of Use (updated 2026-09-29). Both restrict Hong Kong, Malaysia and the United States (OKX restricts parts of the United States and all of its territories); OKX also restricts Japan, India and Canada, while KuCoin restricts Singapore, mainland China, France, the Netherlands and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. When checked, both apps were available on the Taiwan App Store: the OKX app and the KuCoin app. KuCoin’s terms expressly prohibit using a VPN to hide your location, and if you’re in a restricted region you may be unable to manage your positions, so keep this in mind when traveling abroad. For which countries each exchange restricts, see exchange restricted countries.
What is each exchange good at?
OKX‘s strengths are trading costs and tools for major coins. You get spot maker at 0.08% and futures taker at 0.05% without holding a platform token, and its BTC user assets are about 19 times KuCoin’s (see the reserve figures in the next section). OKX’s official trading bot guide lists 11 strategies, and OKX also has its own non-custodial Web3 wallet and options.
- Trading bots: spot grid, futures grid, futures martingale, smart arbitrage, spot martingale, recurring buy, signal bot, iceberg, TWAP, smart portfolio and arbitrage order; the signal bot can place orders automatically from TradingView signals (OKX trading bots overview).
- Copy trading: futures copy trading, with the profit share depending on the lead trader’s level and calculated from net profit after trading fees; it’s withheld provisionally when a profitable position is closed, then settled on the week’s net profit every Monday at 00:00, with any excess refunded. Copy trading fees are the same as for regular futures, with no other charges (OKX lead trader profit-sharing rules, OKX copy trading FAQ). Check the actual rate on the lead trader’s page.
- Web3 wallet and Earn: with the Web3 wallet you hold your own private keys, and if you lose your seed phrase you can’t recover the assets (What is OKX Web3 Wallet). On 2026-10-13 the market rate for flexible USDT in Simple Earn was 3.50%; OKX takes 15% of the earnings, so you actually get about 2.98% (OKX Simple Earn).
KuCoin‘s strength is the number of coins and contracts. In the official APIs read on 2026-10-17, KuCoin spot had 814 base coins against OKX’s 445 (OKX spot API); for crypto USDT perpetual contracts, KuCoin had 518 and OKX 287. BTC futures go up to 125x, but only for positions up to 250,000 USDT; OKX’s maximum is 100x. The trade-off is that nearly half of KuCoin’s spot trading pairs charge 0.2% or 0.3%.
- Trading bots: spot grid, Infinity Grid, Smart Rebalance, DCA, martingale, futures grid and DualFutures AI. Spot bots get 20% off the VIP 0 fee on some coins; futures bots charge a flat 0.06%, whether maker or taker (KuCoin trading bot guide).
- Copy trading: futures copy trading only. The profit share is calculated on realized profit after fees and funding fees, and only on cumulative profit beyond what has already been shared; it settles daily at 00:00 (UTC, 08:00 Taiwan time). You can allocate 10 to 10,000 USDT to each lead trader (KuCoin copy trader guide). Under the Elite+ program from 2026-09-06, the trader’s profit share ranges from 10% to 32% by level (KuCoin Elite+ announcement).
- Earn and other products: flexible USDT (Simple Earn) was 1.30% on 2026-10-13, with no tiers, and fixed terms range from 1.80% for 7 days to 4.10% for 365 days (KuCoin Earn); KuCoin also offers spot margin and coin-margined futures.
Earn rates are variable; for a comparison across exchanges, see USDT savings rates compared. Copy trading costs include fees too: copying a lead trader who makes 40 round trips a month with 1,000 USDT at 5x leverage, all as taker, costs 5,000 × 0.05% × 2 × 40 = 200 USDT in fees on OKX and 240 USDT on KuCoin. Neither exchange states whether fees from copy trading earn a referral code rebate. The full calculation is in the cost of copy trading.
How do OKX and KuCoin compare on proof of reserves and security?
Both publish proof of reserves regularly, and both provide a tool for users to confirm that their own account was included:
- OKX: published monthly, verified with zk-STARK, covering 22 coins. When read on 2026-10-17, the latest report’s data time was 2026-10-03 00:00 (UTC+8): user BTC 142,809.76, platform BTC 156,475.63, a surplus of 13,665.87 BTC; ETH has a surplus of 4,688.60 ETH, and USDT a surplus of about 471 million USDT. About 3.97% of the platform’s BTC is held with third-party custodians; that portion has to be confirmed with the custodian and can’t be checked on-chain yourself (OKX proof of reserves page).
- KuCoin: the latest report is the 2026-09-30 snapshot: BTC 109%, ETH 117%, USDT 110%; user BTC 7,358.67, platform BTC 7,994.37, a surplus of 635.70 BTC, verified with a Merkle tree (KuCoin proof of reserves page). The page says it was verified by an independent third party but doesn’t name the firm.
A high reserve ratio doesn’t mean large scale: KuCoin’s published ratios have room to spare, but its user BTC assets are only about 5% of OKX’s. The major incidents for both:
- KuCoin hack, 2020-09-25: the private keys of several hot wallets were obtained, with losses of about 281 million USD. On 2020-11-11 the CEO announced that 84% had been recovered (The Block), and the remaining roughly 16%, about 45.55 million USD, was covered by the insurance fund (Decrypt). Deposits and withdrawals were suspended and then restored in stages.
- OKX withdrawal halt, 2020: 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 afterward set aside part of its futures and perpetual fee income as compensation rewards (OKX compensation announcement).
- KuCoin guilty plea, 2025-01-27: operating entity Peken Global pleaded guilty in the United States to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, with a fine of 112.9 million USD plus forfeiture of 184.5 million USD, a total of more than 297 million USD, and agreed to exit the US market for at least two years (US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York). In 2025, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada imposed an administrative penalty of 19.552 million CAD on Peken Global, which KuCoin has appealed (FINTRAC).
- OKX guilty plea, 2025-02-24: Aux Cayes FinTech, which operates OKX, pleaded guilty in the United States to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, with a fine of 84.4 million USD plus forfeiture of 420.3 million USD, a total of more than 504 million USD (US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York).
- Regulators elsewhere: the unregistered platforms named by the Philippine SEC in August 2025 include OKX and KuCoin (Cointelegraph); Thailand’s SEC has blocked OKX since 2025-06-28 (The Block); in February 2025, Japan’s FSA asked Apple and Google to remove KuCoin and other apps in Japan (The Defiant).
The protection mechanisms differ too. OKX states that its security fund isn’t an insurance product and doesn’t guarantee compensation for any particular user’s losses (Understanding OKX’s security fund); KuCoin used an insurance fund in 2020, but its current size can’t be found. When a futures account goes negative, the two say opposite things: OKX states that users don’t have to cover a negative balance, which is covered by the risk reserve (OKX liquidation FAQ); KuCoin’s futures terms of use state that users are responsible for any negative balance left in their futures account after liquidation (KuCoin futures terms of use). Proof of reserves only reflects assets at the moment of the snapshot and isn’t deposit insurance; coins you won’t trade for a long time can be moved to a wallet you control yourself. For 13 exchanges’ records side by side, see exchange safety records and proof of reserves compared; the full data on each is in the OKX review and the KuCoin review.
How do you transfer from OKX to KuCoin, and which USDT network is cheapest?
There’s no internal transfer between the two, so USDT has to go through an on-chain withdrawal, with a fixed fee per withdrawal charged by the exchange you send from. The table shows the 9 networks both exchanges list, in USDT, with each cell showing “fee (minimum withdrawal)”:
| Network | From OKX to KuCoin | From KuCoin to OKX |
|---|---|---|
| Plasma | 0.0000061 (minimum 2) | 0.4 (minimum 5) |
| Aptos | 0.0011 (minimum 2) | 0.5 (minimum 1) |
| TON | 0.022 (minimum 2) | 0.5 (minimum 1) |
| Polygon | 0.0095 (minimum 2) | 0.8 (minimum 1.6) |
| Arbitrum One | 0.0031 (minimum 2) | 1 (minimum 5) |
| Avalanche C-Chain | 0.027 (minimum 2) | 1 (minimum 2) |
| Solana | 0.29 (minimum 2) | 1.5 (minimum 3) |
| TRC20 | 1.5 (minimum 10) | 1.99 (minimum 4) |
| ERC20 | 0.35 (minimum 2) | 5.5 (minimum 30) |
The data was read on 2026-10-17 from the OKX withdrawal fee page and KuCoin’s official currency API. KuCoin’s Optimism deposits were suspended that day, so it isn’t listed. OKX labels Plasma, Polygon and Arbitrum One as USDT0, so before sending, check on KuCoin’s deposit page that the same network is open; the same applies in reverse, going by the networks listed on OKX’s deposit page. Withdrawal fees change with network conditions, so before you confirm a withdrawal, go by the amount shown on the withdrawal page.
Out of OKX, Plasma, Aptos, Arbitrum One, Polygon, TON and Avalanche C-Chain all cost less than 0.03 USDT; out of KuCoin, even the cheapest, Plasma, costs 0.4 USDT. The biggest gap is ERC20: KuCoin charges 5.5 USDT with a 30 USDT minimum, while OKX charges only 0.35 USDT. Aptos works well in both directions. For a round trip of 1,000 USDT from OKX to KuCoin and back, Aptos costs about 0.5 USDT in total, while TRC20 both ways costs 3.49 USDT. OKX doesn’t support BEP20, so if you usually use BEP20 you’ll need to switch networks; when sending to KuCoin over TON, if the deposit page shows a Memo (tag), enter it as well.
- On the receiving exchange (for example KuCoin), go to the deposit page, select USDT and the Aptos network, and copy the deposit address for that network.
- On the sending exchange (for example OKX), go to the withdrawal page, select USDT, paste the address and choose the same Aptos network; if you choose the wrong network, the funds may be lost permanently.
- The first time you send to a new address, you can send a small amount first to confirm it arrives, then send the larger amount; a test through Aptos from OKX costs only an extra 0.0011 USDT.
Referral code rebates refund trading fees only, not withdrawal fees. For the full fees on every network across 13 exchanges, and the cheapest routes into and out of MAX and BitoPro, see USDT withdrawal fees compared.
OKX or KuCoin: which should you choose?
- Beginners who mainly buy major-coin spot: choose OKX. You don’t need to hold a platform token, spot maker orders are 0.08%, and you don’t have to worry about landing on class B or C coins; you can check 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 use market orders (VIP 0): choose OKX. The 0.05% futures taker fee is lower than KuCoin’s 0.06%, a difference of 20 USDT on 200,000 USDT of futures volume a month; KuCoin’s rebate has to reach 16.7% or more to match OKX’s fee without a rebate.
- Frequent small-cap buyers, or traders of futures on less common coins: KuCoin offers more choice, with 814 spot coins and 518 crypto futures contracts; but check the fee class before you place an order, as class C spot is 0.3%. For coins listed on both, trading on OKX is usually cheaper.
- 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%, while most of KuCoin’s are ±2%.
- Keeping 100,000 USD or more in your account: choose OKX. 100,000 USD in assets gets you VIP 1 and 200,000 USD gets you VIP 2, with a futures taker fee of 0.036%; on KuCoin you need 1,000,000 USDT to upgrade through assets, and under the referral program, invitees stop generating rebates once they reach VIP 3 or above.
- You just want the lowest fees: choose OKX. Its VIP 0 spot and futures fees are the lower of the two, and so are its USDT withdrawal fees. With KCS on, KuCoin’s class A spot taker fee of 0.08% beats OKX’s 0.1%, but you carry the KCS price risk yourself.
Many traders open both: they keep major coins and most of their futures trading on OKX and trade small-cap coins listed only on KuCoin there, which also spreads the risk of one platform halting withdrawals; moving USDT over from OKX via Aptos costs next to nothing. You need to complete identity verification on each separately, and enter the referral code on each when you sign up.
How we checked this data
Fees, VIP thresholds, platform token discounts, identity verification, and the rules for adding and switching codes were checked against both exchanges’ official help centers and fee pages between 2026-10-11 and 2026-10-17 (KuCoin’s Link Referrer and Unlink Referrer requests were rechecked on 2026-10-22), and OKX’s spot VIP fee table was reconfirmed on the official fee page on 2026-10-17. KuCoin’s trading pair classes, both exchanges’ contract counts, maximum leverage, funding settlement intervals and USDT withdrawal fees are figures read from official pages and public APIs on 2026-10-17; Earn rates are a 2026-10-13 snapshot; reserve figures come from each exchange’s latest published report; and incidents were cross-checked against official announcements, press releases from judicial authorities and news reports. How this site compiles its data is explained in how we compile rebate data, and the disclosure for referral links is in referral and rebate disclosure.
FAQ
Which has lower fees, OKX or KuCoin?
At VIP 0, OKX is lower. The futures maker fee is 0.02% on both, and the taker fee is 0.05% on OKX and 0.06% on KuCoin; spot is 0.08% / 0.1% on OKX, while on KuCoin class A is 0.1% / 0.1% and classes B and C are 0.2% and 0.3%. With KCS on, KuCoin’s class A spot becomes 0.08% / 0.08%, so its taker fee is lower than OKX’s, but this doesn’t apply to futures.
Can I use OKX and KuCoin at the same time?
Yes. They’re separate companies, so you just register and verify your identity on each separately; the limit applies within each exchange, where one ID document can verify only one account. Enter the referral code on each when you sign up: OKX doesn’t let you add one afterward, and KuCoin only takes a request it has to review. To move USDT between them you can use Aptos: 0.0011 USDT out of OKX and 0.5 USDT out of KuCoin.
Should users in Taiwan choose OKX or KuCoin?
The conditions for using them in Taiwan are similar, and most people will save more with OKX, because its fees are lower and moving USDT back to a Taiwanese exchange costs much less. Neither offers TWD deposits, Taiwan isn’t a restricted region on either, and both apps are on the Taiwan App Store; on both, you deposit by buying USDT on a Taiwanese exchange first and then transferring it over.
Which is safer, OKX or KuCoin?
Neither can be called absolutely safe; each has its own record. On 2020-09-25, about 281 million USD was stolen from KuCoin’s hot wallets, 84% was recovered and the insurance fund covered the rest; OKX has no major public incident of its platform wallets being hacked, but it halted withdrawals for about 41 days in 2020. Both operating entities pleaded guilty in the United States in 2025. On reserves, OKX’s report with data as of 2026-10-03 shows platform assets exceeding user assets for BTC, ETH and USDT; KuCoin’s 2026-09-30 snapshot shows BTC at 109%.
Which pays a bigger referral rebate?
For the current rates, see the comparison table and calculators above, which display in sync with the exchanges. By the rules, OKX states that the rebate rate for invitees ranges from 0% to 20%, and only VIP 7 and above get no rebate; KuCoin’s affiliate program states that invitees who registered after 2022-09-22 earn for life, but its referral program says invitees at VIP 3 or above don’t generate commission. KuCoin’s futures taker fee is higher, so its rebate has to reach 16.7% to match OKX’s 0.05% without a rebate.
I’ve already signed up. Can I still add or switch a referral code?
OKX doesn’t let you add one later but has a way to switch; KuCoin takes requests, and the outcome depends on its review. On OKX, you can submit a switching request through an affiliate’s recall link or channel ID; the system reviews it automatically, and requests must be 30 days apart. Alternatively, after your account has been inactive for 180 days, you can log in through a new affiliate’s link. On KuCoin, if you didn’t enter a code at sign-up, you can submit a Link Referrer request under Self-Service in the Help Center; if you already have a referrer, you can request Unlink Referrer. KuCoin reviews both and doesn’t publish the time limit, conditions or review time (checked 2026-10-22). Old accounts registered before 2023-08-31 and never verified can also ask customer support first and then open a new account instead.
Which network should I use to send USDT from OKX to KuCoin?
Aptos is the easiest: 0.0011 USDT out of OKX, and 0.5 USDT in the other direction out of KuCoin (2026-10-17). OKX doesn’t support BEP20; ERC20 out of KuCoin costs 5.5 USDT with a 30 USDT minimum withdrawal, so it’s best avoided. Before sending, confirm that the receiving side’s deposit page has the same network open.
To sign up directly, see the OKX referral code and the KuCoin referral code; fee details are in OKX fees and KuCoin fees; if you already have an account, the switching rules are in how to switch your OKX referral code and how to switch your KuCoin referral code. Each exchange’s actual fees after referral rebates are in fees after referral rebates, and which has the lowest fees is covered in low-fee exchanges compared; for other exchanges’ referral codes and rebates, see the crypto exchange referral code roundup. To compare other pairs, see Binance vs OKX, OKX vs Bybit, Bitget vs OKX, OKX vs MEXC and KuCoin vs Bitget.