Where is OKX restricted?

OKX is restricted in 12 of the 195 countries we cover: Afghanistan, Canada, Cuba, India, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, North Korea, Syria, Thailand and Uzbekistan.

Eleven come straight from OKX’s risk and compliance disclosure (last updated 8 July 2026), which also lists Hong Kong, the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine and every US territory. Three are market exits: OKX stopped serving Canada in 2023, closing accounts by 22 June according to Cointelegraph, ended services in India on 30 April 2024 according to CoinDesk, and withdrew its Hong Kong licence application in May 2024. Cuba, Iran and North Korea are also under comprehensive US sanctions (OFAC programmes for Cuba, Iran and North Korea). For the other six OKX gives no public reason.

Thailand is not on OKX’s list. Thailand’s SEC said on 29 May 2025 that it had filed criminal complaints against OKX for running an unlicensed exchange and had reported it to the digital economy ministry, which restricted access from 28 June 2025. The same order covered Bybit, which we also record as restricted there.

Grid of the 12 countries where OKX is restricted, grouped by cause: on OKX’s list with no reason given (Afghanistan, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Syria and Uzbekistan), sanctions (Cuba, Iran and North Korea), market exit (Canada and India) and a regulator block (Thailand). In our geo-access test OKX’s home page blocked visitors by IP in Afghanistan, Canada, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Syria and Uzbekistan; Thailand loaded with no barrier; Cuba, Iran and North Korea were not tested.

OKX enforces its own list at the door: in every listed country we reached, the home page loaded behind a pop-up saying OKX Exchange is not available there. The full list, with the reason for each country, is below.

CategoryCountriesContextLast verified
Geographic block9 countriesOn OKX's restricted-locations list (updated 8 July 2026).16 Oct 2026
License requirement1 countryNot on OKX's own list, but Thailand's SEC had access to OKX blocked from 28 June 2025 for running an unlicensed exchange.16 Oct 2026
Geographic block1 countryOKX ended services in India on 30 April 2024 without FIU-IND registration and lists it as restricted.16 Oct 2026
Geographic block1 countryOKX left Canada in 2023 (no new accounts from 24 March, accounts closed by 22 June) and lists it as restricted.16 Oct 2026
Geographic block1 countryOKX withdrew its Hong Kong VASP application and stopped serving residents on 31 May 2024.16 Oct 2026

Where is OKX limited?

OKX is limited in 11 countries: Australia, the Bahamas, Brazil, Eritrea, the Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Seven come from the partial restrictions in the same OKX disclosure: derivatives and CeFi services in Australia, retail products in the Bahamas, derivatives and P2P in Brazil and South Korea, P2P in Eritrea, fiat payments in Russia, and derivatives, CeFi and P2P in the UK. Ukraine is limited because the disclosure excludes Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, and the United States because the global platform excludes it while OKX’s separate US company serves Americans (covered below). The Philippines is not on OKX’s list: the SEC named OKX among ten unregistered exchanges in August 2025, after which the main internet providers restricted access, as BitPinas reported. Kazakhstan is not on the list either: the AIFC regulator AFSA named OKX in its 29 April 2026 warning on unlicensed platforms.

Chart of the 11 countries where OKX is limited, grouped by what is cut back: derivatives, plus CeFi or P2P services, in Australia, Brazil, South Korea and United Kingdom; retail products in the Bahamas, P2P in Eritrea and fiat payments in Russia; the United States, served by the separate OKX INC. with spot only; the Philippines, named in an SEC warning after which ISPs restricted access, and Kazakhstan, named in an AFSA warning on unlicensed platforms; and Ukraine, where Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk are excluded.

Limited means OKX still serves the country, but something is cut back. In Australia, derivatives run through OKX Australia Financial under its own licence and terms, so the restriction is about which entity offers them, not a full ban. The countries and what applies in each are below.

CategoryCountriesContextLast verified
Geographic block1 countryCrimea, Donetsk and Luhansk are on OKX's restricted list; the rest of Ukraine is not.16 Oct 2026
Regulatory warning1 countryNot on OKX's own list, but named in the SEC's August 2025 advisory on unregistered exchanges, after which major ISPs restricted access.16 Oct 2026
Regulatory warning1 countryNot on OKX's restricted-locations list (updated 8 July 2026), but AFSA named OKX in its 29 April 2026 warning on unlicensed platforms.19 Oct 2026
Partial service1 countryNot on the restricted list, but OKX restricts derivatives and P2P services in South Korea.16 Oct 2026
Partial service1 countryOKX INC. holds money transmitter licences in 45 jurisdictions, including Puerto Rico, but does not serve New York, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands or the US Virgin Islands; the global platform excludes US users.16 Oct 2026
Partial service1 countryOKX INC. is licensed in Puerto Rico (TM-116) and serves it through OKX US, with spot and OTC only.07 Nov 2026
Partial service1 countryOKX's disclosure restricts P2P services in Eritrea.16 Oct 2026
Partial service1 countryOKX's disclosure restricts retail products in the Bahamas.16 Oct 2026
Partial service1 countryOKX's disclosure says fiat payment services may be restricted in Russia.16 Oct 2026
Partial service1 countryServed by the local entity OKX Serviços Digitais Ltda., but OKX restricts derivatives and P2P services in Brazil.16 Oct 2026
Partial service1 countrySpot trading is open to UK users under an FCA risk warning, but OKX restricts derivatives, CeFi and P2P services in the UK.16 Oct 2026
Partial service1 countrySpot trading is served by OKX Australia Pty Ltd (AUSTRAC), but OKX restricts derivatives and CeFi services in Australia.16 Oct 2026

Where is OKX available?

OKX is available in the other 172 of the 195 countries we cover, including all 30 EEA countries, Turkey, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and most of Africa and Latin America.

Five of them host an OKX licence, registration or listing (covered in the licences section below): El Salvador, Malta, Singapore, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates. The other 29 EEA countries are served by OKX Europe under its Maltese MiCA licence, and 14 more, such as Argentina, Mexico and Indonesia, have a written basis of their own: an OKX page that serves them, or a check by name against the restricted list. The remaining 125 are available under our coverage rule: no official document from OKX or a regulator restricts them.

Bar chart of the 172 countries where OKX is available, by region: Africa 53 (28 tested), Asia 33 (25 tested), Europe 43 (40 tested), North America 19 (8 tested), South America 11 (7 tested), Oceania 13 (1 tested). 7 host an OKX licence or registration (Argentina, El Salvador, Malta, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey and United Arab Emirates), 29 are EEA countries served under the Malta MiCA licence, 24 were checked by name against the restricted list, and 112 are available under the coverage rule because no official document restricts them.

Our geo-access test loaded OKX without a block in 110 of the 173, 38 of them on a regional OKX site. Available means OKX serves the country, not that local law allows crypto trading: China and Bangladesh are on this list because OKX does not exclude them, whatever their own rules say. The countries we hold a written basis for are below.

CategoryCountriesContextLast verified
No restriction29 countriesServed by OKX Europe Limited under an MFSA MiCA licence (27 Jan 2025), passported across the EEA.19 Oct 2026
No restriction17 countriesNot on OKX's restricted-locations list (updated 8 July 2026).20 Oct 2026
No restriction3 countriesNot on OKX's restricted-locations list (updated 8 July 2026), and not blocked in our geo-access test.07 Nov 2026
No restriction3 countriesNot on OKX's restricted-locations list (updated 8 July 2026); our geo-access test loaded the site.20 Oct 2026
No restriction2 countriesNot on OKX's restricted-locations list, and its pages loaded in our geo-access test.20 Oct 2026
No restriction1 countryGeorgia is not on OKX's restricted list (updated 8 July 2026), and its pages loaded in our geo-access test.19 Oct 2026
No restriction1 countryHome of OKX Europe Limited, MiCA-licensed by the MFSA on 27 January 2025.16 Oct 2026
No restriction1 countryNot among the restricted locations in OKX's risk disclosure (updated 8 July 2026), and not blocked in our geo-access test.19 Oct 2026
No restriction1 countryNot on OKX's July 2026 restricted list, though its older EEA disclosure (November 2025) names Nigeria.16 Oct 2026
No restriction1 countryNot on OKX's restricted-locations list (updated 8 July 2026), and its pages loaded in our geo-access test.19 Oct 2026
No restriction1 countryNot on OKX's restricted-locations list (updated 8 July 2026); okx.com offered the OKX Europe site in our test.07 Nov 2026
No restriction1 countryNot on OKX's restricted-locations list of 8 July 2026, and its pages loaded in our geo-access test.19 Oct 2026
No restriction1 countryNot on OKX's restricted-locations list, and not blocked in our geo-access test.07 Nov 2026
No restriction1 countryOKX Fintech, S.A. de C.V. (Sucursal Argentina) is on the CNV register (No. 141, 21 April 2025); it serves users registered since 19 February 2026.17 Oct 2026
No restriction1 countryRegistered with the CNAD and the central bank as OKX Fintech, S.A. de C.V.; not on OKX's restricted-locations list (updated 8 July 2026), and not blocked in our geo-access test.19 Oct 2026
No restriction1 countryServed by OKX Middle East Fintech FZE under a Dubai VARA licence (VL/23/12/003).16 Oct 2026
No restriction1 countryServed by OKX SG Pte. Ltd., a MAS-licensed major payment institution.16 Oct 2026

Where do OKX’s visitors come from?

The United States and Brazil appear in every traffic estimate we checked for okx.com; Japan leads in Semrush and in Similarweb’s May figures, and Singapore and Hong Kong follow the US in Similarweb’s September list.

Similarweb puts the United States first for September 2026 (22.11% of desktop visits), ahead of Singapore at 17.82% and Hong Kong at 9.39%, on 33.2 million visits over three months. Its May 2026 figures, published by BitRSS, had Japan first at 8.42%. Semrush counts 30.35 million visits in September, down from 66.6 million in August, with Japan at 29.19% and the United States at 18.46%.

Three ranked bar lists of the top countries visiting okx.com. Similarweb September 2026 (desktop share): United States 22.11%, Singapore 17.82%, Hong Kong 9.39%, South Korea 6.06%, Brazil 6.05%. Similarweb May 2026 (22.26M visits): Japan 8.42%, United States 7.29%, Philippines 7.19%, Turkey 4.76%, Brazil 4.51%. Semrush September 2026 (30.35M visits): Japan 29.19%, United States 18.46%, Bangladesh 7.56%, United Kingdom 4.66%, Brazil 3.83%. Hong Kong and Japan, where OKX is restricted, appear in the lists; Japan’s bar in Semrush is cut off at the scale limit.

Two restricted places sit in these lists, Japan and Hong Kong, and our test shows why: from both, okx.com still loads, with the block shown as a pop-up over the page, so price checks and research count as visits. The US and Singapore figures mean something else. okx.com serves OKX United States and OKX Singapore on the same domain, so those visits largely reach OKX’s licensed local businesses. Estimators model traffic from panels and samples, so treat any single share as an estimate.

OKX geo-access test: what we saw from 128 countries

In our test OKX’s home page refused visitors by IP address in 8 of the 128 countries we reached, all of them on its own restricted list, and switched 41 others to a regional OKX site.

We ran the test ourselves on 14 October 2026, with the same method as for every platform. A browser with a VPN connected to one country at a time and loaded OKX’s home page and its sign-up page, each time in a fresh private window with no cookies. Cookie banners were hidden but never accepted, and bot checks were waited out, never solved. Every run saved the page text and a screenshot.

Of the 131 places tested (128 of our 195 countries plus Hong Kong, Puerto Rico and Taiwan), 58 of the countries went through VPN servers located there and 70 through virtual locations hosted elsewhere, which earlier tests showed OKX treats as the intended country. A virtual location tests OKX’s own blocking only; it cannot see a block run by a country’s internet providers. Runs from the first hours of the test, before our tool recognised OKX’s regional sites, were re-read from the page titles they saved.

The test does not decide a country’s status on its own: official documents come first, and a page that loads is not permission to use OKX.

Table of OKX’s recorded status against what our geo-access test saw. Restricted (12): blocked by IP in 8, local site in 0, no barrier in 1, not tested in 3. Limited (11): blocked by IP in 0, local site in 3, no barrier in 7, not tested in 1. Available (172): blocked by IP in 0, local site in 38, no barrier in 71, not tested in 63. A local site means okx.com sent us to a regional OKX site, such as OKX Europe or OKX United States.

Three patterns stand out. First, OKX blocks at the door: Afghanistan, Canada, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Syria and Uzbekistan all got the pop-up, as did Hong Kong. That is the opposite of Binance, whose sign-up page blocked only three of its ten restricted countries in the same test. Second, Thailand loaded with no barrier, because its restriction is a government block run by Thai internet providers, which our virtual location cannot see. Third, okx.com routes visitors by country: 36 places landed on OKX Europe, including Switzerland, Serbia and other non-EEA neighbours, and the US, Puerto Rico, the UAE, Australia, Brazil and Singapore on their local OKX sites. In the UK, which is limited, the global site loaded with no notice.

Cuba answered with a bot check that never cleared, and Iran and North Korea were not tested: our VPN offers no location in either. The full result for every country is below.

  • "OKX Exchange is currently not available in Afghanistan due to local laws and regulations."

    Home page · 1 country: Afghanistan

  • "OKX Exchange is currently not available in Canada due to local laws and regulations."

    Home page · 1 country: Canada

  • "OKX Exchange is currently not available in Hong Kong SAR (China) due to local laws"

    Home page · 1 country: Hong Kong SAR China

  • "OKX Exchange is currently not available in India due to local laws and regulations."

    Home page · 1 country: India

  • "OKX Exchange is currently not available in Japan due to local laws and regulations."

    Home page · 1 country: Japan

  • "OKX Exchange is currently not available in Malaysia due to local laws and regulations."

    Home page · 1 country: Malaysia

  • "OKX Exchange is currently not available in Nepal due to local laws and regulations."

    Home page · 1 country: Nepal

  • "We're sorry, OKX exchange products aren't available in Syria because of local laws"

    Home page · 1 country: Syria

  • "OKX Exchange is currently not available in Uzbekistan due to local laws and regulations."

    Home page · 1 country: Uzbekistan

  • "local site: OKX Europe"

    Home page · 36 countries: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and 31 more

  • "local site: OKX United States"

    Home page · 2 countries: Puerto Rico, United States

  • "local site: OKX Australia"

    Home page · 1 country: Australia

  • "local site: OKX Brasil"

    Home page · 1 country: Brazil

  • "local site: OKX Singapore"

    Home page · 1 country: Singapore

  • "local site: OKX UAE"

    Home page · 1 country: United Arab Emirates

Source: CryptoRestrictions geo-access test, 14 Oct 2026. Every other country loaded both pages with no restriction message.

All 131 test results, country by country

OKX geo-access test results by country

Sortable; "Our status" is the verified dataset status, not the test result
CountryLocationHome pageSign-up pageOur status
AfghanistanVirtualBlockedOpenRestricted
AlbaniaIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
AlgeriaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
AndorraIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
AngolaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
ArgentinaIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
AustraliaIn countryNoticeNoticeLimited
AustriaIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
AzerbaijanVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
BahrainVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
BangladeshVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
BelarusVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
BelgiumIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
BhutanVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
Bosnia and HerzegovinaIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
BrazilIn countryNoticeNoticeLimited
BruneiIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
BulgariaIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
CambodiaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
CameroonVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
CanadaIn countryBlockedOpenRestricted
ChadVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
ChileIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
ColombiaIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
ComorosVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
DR CongoVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
Costa RicaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
Côte d'IvoireVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
CroatiaIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
CyprusIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
CzechiaIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
DenmarkIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
Dominican RepublicVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
EcuadorVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
EgyptVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
El SalvadorVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
EritreaVirtualOpenOpenLimited
EstoniaIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
EthiopiaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
FinlandIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
FranceIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
GabonVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
GeorgiaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
GermanyIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
GhanaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
GreeceIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
GuatemalaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
GuineaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
HondurasVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
Hong KongIn countryBlockedBlockedRestricted
HungaryIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
IcelandIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
IndiaVirtualBlockedOpenRestricted
IndonesiaIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
IraqVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
IrelandIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
IsraelIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
ItalyIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
JapanIn countryBlockedOpenRestricted
JordanVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
KazakhstanVirtualOpenOpenLimited
KenyaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
KuwaitVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
LaosVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
LatviaIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
LibyaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
LiechtensteinVirtualNoticeNoticeAvailable
LithuaniaIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
LuxembourgIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
MalaysiaIn countryBlockedOpenRestricted
MauritaniaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
MauritiusVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
MexicoIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
MoldovaIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
MonacoVirtualNoticeNoticeAvailable
MongoliaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
MontenegroVirtualNoticeNoticeAvailable
MoroccoVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
NepalVirtualBlockedOpenRestricted
NetherlandsIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
New ZealandIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
NicaraguaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
NigeriaIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
North MacedoniaIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
NorwayIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
OmanVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
PakistanVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
PanamaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
PeruIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
PhilippinesVirtualOpenOpenLimited
PolandIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
PortugalIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
Puerto RicoVirtualNoticeNoticeLimited
QatarVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
RomaniaIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
RussiaVirtualOpenOpenLimited
RwandaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
Saudi ArabiaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
SenegalVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
SerbiaIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
SingaporeIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
SlovakiaIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
SloveniaIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
SomaliaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
South AfricaIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
South KoreaIn countryOpenOpenLimited
South SudanVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
SpainIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
Sri LankaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
SudanVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
SwedenIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
SwitzerlandIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
SyriaVirtualBlockedBlockedRestricted
TaiwanIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
TajikistanVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
TanzaniaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
ThailandVirtualOpenOpenRestricted
TogoVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
TunisiaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
TurkeyIn countryOpenOpenAvailable
TurkmenistanVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
UgandaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
UkraineIn countryOpenOpenLimited
United Arab EmiratesIn countryNoticeNoticeAvailable
United KingdomIn countryOpenOpenLimited
United StatesIn countryNoticeNoticeLimited
UruguayVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
UzbekistanVirtualBlockedOpenRestricted
VenezuelaVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
VietnamVirtualOpenOpenAvailable
YemenVirtualOpenOpenAvailable

Source: CryptoRestrictions geo-access test, 14 Oct 2026. Virtual: an IP address registered to the country, served from a server elsewhere.

OKX licences and registrations

OKX holds 41 licences and registrations in 9 jurisdictions, none of them in the UK, Canada, India or Hong Kong.

There is no single licences page: OKX publishes them region by region, and we checked them against regulators’ registers where we could. 35 are licences or authorisations (28 of them US state money transmitter licences), five are registrations, and one is a transitional listing in Türkiye that lets OKX TR operate while it applies.

Chart of OKX’s 41 licences and registrations in 9 jurisdictions: 35 licences or authorisations, 5 registrations and 1 transitional listing in Türkiye. Europe: Malta (3: MiCA, MiFID II and payments, passported across the EEA), Türkiye. Middle East: Dubai. Asia-Pacific: Singapore, Australia (2). Africa: South Africa (juristic representative). Americas: United States (29 federal and state licences), El Salvador (2), Argentina. None in the UK, Canada, India or Hong Kong.

Europe

  • Malta (EEA passport): OKX Europe Limited has been authorised as a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA by the Malta Financial Services Authority since 27 January 2025, and ESMA’s register shows the authorisation passported to the 29 other EEA states. OKX Europe Markets Limited is licensed as a MiFID II investment firm for X-Perps, options and tokenised equities, according to its terms (updated 2 October 2026). A payment institution licence for OKX Pay and OKX Card was reported by CoinDesk in February 2026; we have not yet confirmed it on the MFSA register.
  • Türkiye: OKX TR is on the Capital Markets Board’s list of providers in operation, which lets a firm keep operating while it applies; the SPK says the listing is not an authorisation.

Middle East

  • Dubai, United Arab Emirates: OKX Middle East Fintech FZE holds VARA licence VL/23/12/003, issued on 17 September 2024, for exchange services (including derivatives), broker-dealer, lending and borrowing, and management and investment, according to the VARA register.

Asia-Pacific

  • Singapore: OKX SG Pte. Ltd. is a major payment institution licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for digital payment token and cross-border transfer services.
  • Australia: OKX Australia Pty Ltd is registered with AUSTRAC as a digital currency exchange, and OKX Australia Financial Pty Ltd holds Australian financial services licence 379035 for derivatives.

Americas

  • United States: OKX INC. is registered with FinCEN as a money services business (NMLS 1767779) and holds money transmitter licences in 43 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico.
  • El Salvador: OKX Fintech S.A. de C.V. is registered with the CNAD as a digital asset service provider (PSAD-0052, 23 May 2025) and with the central bank as a bitcoin service provider; OKX says it serves users in El Salvador and Argentina.

OKX and MiCA in the EU

OKX has held a MiCA licence since 27 January 2025, so OKX Europe serves all 30 EEA countries, and the end of the transition period on 1 July 2026 changed nothing for its users there.

MiCA is the EU’s crypto rulebook, and since 30 December 2024 it has required exchanges serving EU clients to hold an authorisation from one member state (our MiCA article covers the rules). OKX chose Malta. The licence covers every crypto service MiCA lists except advice, and OKX’s EEA terms (updated 26 May 2026) name no excluded member state. Derivatives sit in a second Maltese company under MiFID II, which is why OKX can offer EEA users futures-style X-Perps that MiCA itself does not cover.

Chart of the MiCA status of 14 crypto platforms. Authorised: Bitstamp, Bybit, Coinbase, Crypto.com, Gate, Kraken, KuCoin and OKX. No MiCA licence: Binance, Bitfinex, Bitget and MEXC. Left the EEA: Gemini. Under EU sanctions: HTX. OKX is highlighted among the authorised platforms, licensed by Malta’s MFSA.

OKX is one of eight authorised platforms among the 14 centralised exchanges in our MiCA dataset, and one of three licensed in Malta, with Crypto.com and Gate. That puts it under a regulator with its own scrutiny: ESMA’s peer review of the MFSA in July 2025 found that one authorisation had been granted with material issues unresolved, without naming the firm. Unlike Bitget, whose EU entity only applied in Austria the day after the deadline, OKX had its licence a year and a half before it.

Stablecoins are where OKX’s EEA service still changes. Under the EEA terms, stablecoins without MiCA authorisation are limited to deposits and withdrawals, and ESMA has since told firms to wind down remaining services in them by early January 2027 (see our coverage).

OKX MiCA timeline

Timeline of MiCA and OKX. EU rules: 30 Jun 2024, Stablecoin rules apply; 30 Dec 2024, CASP licensing starts; 10 Jul 2025, ESMA peer review of Malta’s MFSA; 1 Jul 2026, Transition ends; 8 Oct 2026, ESMA: non-MiCA stablecoins out by January. OKX: 27 Jan 2025, MiCA licence from Malta’s MFSA; Apr 2025, Malta FIAU fine, €1.05m; 3 Sep 2025, Dutch DNB fine, €2.25m; Feb 2026, Payments licence; X-Perps under MiFID.

OKX’s record in Europe is not only licences. Malta’s financial intelligence unit fined OKCoin Europe Ltd €1,054,269 in April 2025 over anti-money-laundering failings found in a 2023 examination, MaltaToday reported. In September 2025 the Dutch central bank published a €2.25 million fine on Aux Cayes FinTech for serving Dutch customers without registration from July 2023 to August 2024, before they moved to a registered OKX entity.

Is OKX available in the US?

Not on the global platform: OKX’s terms exclude the United States, and Americans are served by OKX INC., a separate US company that offers spot trading everywhere in the US except New York and four territories.

OKX INC., formerly OKCoin USA, runs okx.com/en-us. When we loaded okx.com from a US address on 14 October 2026 it switched to OKX United States without a block. OKX launched the US exchange on 16 April 2025 and named Roshan Robert its US chief executive. Its US disclosures limit it to spot trading and OTC buy, sell and convert, with no derivatives.

Where does OKX work in the US?

Tile map of the United States showing where OKX INC. operates: a state licence listed in 43 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico; not excluded but with no state licence listed in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Montana, Utah and Wyoming; not served in New York and in American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and US Virgin Islands.

OKX’s US licences page (updated 15 September 2026) says OKX INC. does not serve:

  • States: New York.
  • Territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the US Virgin Islands.

It lists money transmitter licences in 43 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico. Six states, California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Montana, Utah and Wyoming, have no licence on the page but are not excluded either, and OKX’s US terms carry specific rules for Massachusetts residents. The page notes that the licences in Alaska, Louisiana, Tennessee and Virginia do not cover virtual currency transmission.

OKX’s US guilty plea

On 24 February 2025 Aux Cayes FinTech, the Seychelles company behind OKX’s global platform, pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and agreed to penalties of more than $504 million, an $84.4 million fine and $420.3 million in forfeiture, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. OKX said the plea resolved the investigation, and launched its licensed US exchange seven weeks later.

The settlement did not bar OKX from the US market; it closed the global platform to it. In March 2026 the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, ICE, invested in OKX at a $25 billion valuation and took a board seat.

OKX regulator actions and market moves: timeline

Year-by-year table of OKX’s regulator actions and exits beside its licences and launches. 2021: Ontario OSC files allegations against Aux Cayes (OKEx). 2022: OKEx rebrands as OKX. 2023: Leaves Canada; accounts closed by 22 June; Launches a local exchange in Brazil. 2024: Leaves India (30 April); Withdraws its licence bid, leaves Hong Kong; Launches in Australia; Full VARA licence in Dubai. 2025: Pleads guilty in the US, over $504m; Malta FIAU fine, €1.05m; Thailand blocks access; Philippine SEC warning; ISPs block; Dutch DNB fine, €2.25m; MiCA licence from Malta’s MFSA; Launches its US exchange. 2026: Payments licence and MiFID X-Perps; ICE invests at a $25bn valuation.

OKX KYC and identity verification

OKX has one level of identity verification, and an account cannot buy, sell, deposit or withdraw until it is complete; OKX publishes no limits beyond that.

OKX’s verification guide (updated 25 August 2026) asks for country of residence, nationality, full name, date of birth, ID number and residential address, a photo of a government ID (no screenshots) and a selfie, with proof of address when asked: issued within six months for EEA users and three months elsewhere. OKX says it reviews applications within 24 hours. Its sign-up guide spells out what an unverified account cannot do: buy or sell crypto, deposit or withdraw, transfer or borrow. The US flow adds a Social Security Number.

Checklist of OKX’s identity verification. The global, EEA and US flows all ask for country, nationality, name and date of birth, ID number and residential address, a photo of a government ID (no screenshots) and a selfie. Proof of address, when asked, must be from the last 3 months, or 6 months in the EEA. Only the US flow asks for a Social Security Number. An unverified account cannot buy or sell crypto, deposit, withdraw, make internal transfers or borrow.

Verification is not a one-off. OKX’s KYC explainer describes regular reviews that can ask for occupation, source of income or source of funds. An existing account that misses a deadline can be frozen, but OKX says the owner can still reach the funds and withdraw them.

OKX verification history

Under its old name, OKEx, the exchange barred unverified accounts from withdrawing from 28 August 2018 and capped basic-level withdrawals at 2 BTC a day, CoinPost reported, while fully verified accounts could take out 100 BTC. In August 2023 ForkLog reported that OKX gave users until 21 September to pass document and face verification.

Timeline of OKX identity verification. 28 Aug 2018: Unverified accounts barred from withdrawing. Dec 2019: Ban on unverified withdrawals reported. Jan 2022: OKEx becomes OKX. 21 Sep 2023: Deadline for ID and face check. 1 Jan 2026: EEA tax reporting (DAC8) starts. Pages of Aug 2026: One level, before any trading.

Today’s help pages name a single level and no amounts. Older tier tables with daily limits still circulate on OKX’s legacy help centre and on third-party sites, but they contradict each other and the current pages, so we do not repeat them. For how OKX’s checks compare with other exchanges, see our guide to crypto exchange KYC.

What if OKX is restricted where you live?

It depends on the country: of the 21 other platforms we track, 14 are available in Thailand, 13 in Malaysia and 10 in India, but only one, KuCoin, in Cuba, Iran and North Korea, where Bitstamp is limited.

A VPN is no route around it. OKX’s terms do not name VPNs, but they bar anyone who does not meet its eligibility rules, verification asks where you live and may ask you to prove it, and in our test OKX blocked by IP in every listed country we reached. What is left is a platform that is allowed to serve you where you live.

Stacked bars for the 12 countries where OKX is restricted, showing how many of the 21 other platforms we track are available, limited, restricted or not yet verified there. Nepal: 19 available (11 of them centralised exchanges), 0 limited, 2 restricted, 0 unverified; Uzbekistan: 16 available (8 of them centralised exchanges), 0 limited, 5 restricted, 0 unverified; Afghanistan: 15 available (8 of them centralised exchanges), 1 limited, 5 restricted, 0 unverified; Thailand: 14 available (9 of them centralised exchanges), 2 limited, 5 restricted, 0 unverified; Malaysia: 13 available (5 of them centralised exchanges), 2 limited, 6 restricted, 0 unverified; India: 10 available (5 of them centralised exchanges), 6 limited, 5 restricted, 0 unverified; Syria: 8 available (7 of them centralised exchanges), 1 limited, 12 restricted, 0 unverified; Japan: 6 available (1 of them centralised exchanges), 7 limited, 8 restricted, 0 unverified; Canada: 3 available (1 of them centralised exchanges), 6 limited, 12 restricted, 0 unverified; Cuba: 1 available (1 of them centralised exchanges), 1 limited, 19 restricted, 0 unverified; Iran: 1 available (1 of them centralised exchanges), 1 limited, 19 restricted, 0 unverified; North Korea: 1 available (1 of them centralised exchanges), 1 limited, 19 restricted, 0 unverified.

The chart shows how much choice each restricted country has. India, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan keep several open platforms, though only two centralised exchanges in Japan, where Coinbase is also restricted. Canada has three, one of them a centralised exchange. Nepal and Uzbekistan keep 19 and 16 open platforms, most of them centralised exchanges, and in Cuba, Iran and North Korea the one platform recorded as available is KuCoin, under our coverage rule; Bitstamp is limited there.

Each country page lists every platform we track there with its status and sources; start from our country index.