OKX vs Bitget Review 2024: Crypto Trading Platforms Compared
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Seychelles
Seychelles
2016
2018
Virtual Asset Trading License: HK SFC
VFAA compliant: Malta Financial Services
Provisional Virtual Assets License: Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority
None
350+
500+
OKB
BGB
Lowest: -0.005%/0.020%
Highest: 0.080%/0.1%
Lowest: 0.08%/0.08%
Highest: 0.1%/0.1%
Very High
High
Advanced trading concepts can be confusing for beginners. Many features and products on OKX may be overwhelming for new users.
Advanced trading concepts can be confusing for beginners
KYC required for all trading levels
KYC Required
Purchase crypto with 90+ fiat currencies
Crypto can be purchased with 45+ fiat currencies supported through various integrated partners, bank transfers for deposits and withdrawals also supported
Deposit- Buy crypto with 129+ supported services for bank transfers, card purchases, Apple Pay, etc. and Crypto.
Withdrawโ Crypto only
Deposit-Purchase crypto via bank card or transfer via third-party companies, Apple and Google Pay, bank transfers
Withdraw- Bank Transfer, Crypto
Seychelles
Seychelles
2016
2018
Virtual Asset Trading License: HK SFC
VFAA compliant: Malta Financial Services
Provisional Virtual Assets License: Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority
None
350+
500+
OKB
BGB
Lowest: -0.005%/0.020%
Highest: 0.080%/0.1%
Lowest: 0.08%/0.08%
Highest: 0.1%/0.1%
Very High
High
Advanced trading concepts can be confusing for beginners. Many features and products on OKX may be overwhelming for new users.
Advanced trading concepts can be confusing for beginners
KYC required for all trading levels
KYC Required
Purchase crypto with 90+ fiat currencies
Crypto can be purchased with 45+ fiat currencies supported through various integrated partners, bank transfers for deposits and withdrawals also supported
Deposit- Buy crypto with 129+ supported services for bank transfers, card purchases, Apple Pay, etc. and Crypto.
Withdrawโ Crypto only
Deposit-Purchase crypto via bank card or transfer via third-party companies, Apple and Google Pay, bank transfers
Withdraw- Bank Transfer, Crypto
From 2017 to 2019, it seemed as if there was an exchange born every 3 months. Scammy exchanges aside, the competition is fierce amongst the legit. Of the ones that managed to emerge victorious in a very crowded space, OKX and Bitget are two exchanges that managed to secure their own corner amidst the melee, which is why we are excited to be bringing you to this OKX vs Bitget review.
In this article, we're taking a bird's-eye view at these two exchanges that are likely more well-known outside of the US to see how they stack up against each other.ย
For a more in-depth understanding of each exchange, please check out the OKX Review and Bitget Review.
If neither tickles your fancy, perhaps you may find something better suited to your temperament in our article on the Top Crypto Exchanges.
OKX vs Bitget
According to CoinGecko's ranking of Top Crypto Exchanges by Trust Score, OKX is at the no. 3 spot while Bitget is at no. 14. When looking at the derivatives side, OKX remains entrenched at no. 3 while Bitget has risen to a respectable no. 5. This gives you an idea of where Bitget's focus lies in terms of their target customers.
OKX (formerly OKeX) may not be as well-known as Binance or Coinbase, but it's got a crowd of loyal followers and traders who are active on its trading platform, giving it some nice-looking volume to crow about on ranking charts. It falls into the category of "whack-all exchanges" with a wide variety of offerings while seeking to be the industry leader in all crypto areas such as DeFi, NFT, and Web3.
The exchange features a professional trading platform with a beautiful UI, paired with some of the lowest fees I've seen. It also offers a range of deposit options, making it easy for anyone to get in and join the fun, whether with fiat or crypto. Withdrawals though are crypto-only.ย ย
Its own token OKB has seen some decent gains in the current upswing, currently trading not far from its all-time high of $44 at $39.89 at the time of writing.
If OKX pales in comparison to the others in name recognition, Bitget is an even smaller fish in the pond. There's an advantage to this because, far away from the noise, Bitget can focus on doing what it does well, which is providing a solid trading engine and platform for traders of all sorts. In addition, it's also dabbling a bit into the NFT business with a launchpad and an Earn program.ย
Similar to OKX, the Bitget token BGB, currently priced at $0.217282 at the time of writing, is also nearing its all-time high of $0.237960, no doubt helped heaps by the recent (mini) rally going on in the market. At the rate that things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if it manages to create a new ATH by the end of this rally.
The Bitget exchange continues to impress users and in 2023, launched native fiat deposit and withdrawal support via bank transfers for zero fees, giving them a competitive advantage over OKX in this regard.
Before jumping into more detail about each exchange, let's see how OKX compares against Bitget in a few areas.
OKX vs Bitget: Products Offered
A brief glance at both platforms shows a bit of friendly competition going on between these two platforms. It was most obvious when it came to the earning product known as Shark Fin. This was first introduced by Bitget, and later followed on by OKX. Both of them also have other similar offerings, visible from the list below.
From OKX, we get:
- A variety of trading options including: spot, perpetual swaps, futures, margin, options, and trading bots.
- A smattering of earning options including: Savings, Shark Fin, ETH2.0 staking, Fixed Income, and staking for other assets.
- Loans
- Jumpstart - be one of the first to discover new, cutting-edge projects.
- Demo Trading - use this if you are a beginner to the game of trading or as a sandbox to test out new strategies for advanced traders
- Access crypto via 90 fiat currencies
- Convert feature allows for easy swapping between different crypto pairs.
- Explore section to discover what's available in DeFi and Web3 DApps
- NFT marketplace
๐ย Sign up to OKXย and get a whopping 40% discount on trading fees for life!
Bitget gives us:
- Copy Trading - mimic the strategies used by top traders to make money
- Nice selection of Earn products such as Shark Fin, Dual Investment, Launchpool (for staking assets), BGB Earn, Savings, and Launchpad for discovering new projects.
- Trade products include: futures, spot, spot margin and bot trading.
- Use over 50 fiat currencies for crypto purchases.
๐ย Sign up to Bitget for a massive 20% off trading fees, $20 FREE after a $200 deposit and KYC completion, and up to an $8k bonus ๐ค
Both platforms provide a sophisticated trading platform with all the necessary tools and indicators any trader would need to make an informed decision about their trades. Newbies who are curious about how technical analysis works can check out Guy's videos on this topic before plunging in. Even so, some Demo Trading experience at OKX might be a safer option since no money is lost.
From the point of view of a trader, both platforms perform sufficiently well to cater for most trading requirements. When it comes to earning passive income or wandering a bit off the beaten track, OKX offers a bit more for the curious-minded.
OKX vs Bitget: User Friendliness
The spot trading platform for OKX and Bitget look fairly similar, although I'd say that the latter seems slightly easier on the eyes, at least for me. Both feature a buy/sell form for orders, a charting area with tools, and an order book. One point of difference is that Bitget offers a list of active trading pairs while OKX lists the top 10 movers.
Liquidity issues aren't expected in both these exchanges as there is also plenty for both retail and institutional investors to chew on. This is further amplified in Bitget's Star Trader program where you can register as a trader or follow one, as part of its Copy Trading program. Can't be encouraging trading without first ensuring sufficient liquidity for everyone!
OKX's "one-click" buy and convert feature is great for beginner traders or anyone who doesnโt need to look at charts.
When it comes to the education aspect, Bitget's learning page, known as Bitget Academy, features tutorials more attuned to the platform's usage than to crypto knowledge in general. OKX has taken a slightly different approach in its Learn page by focusing more on crypto asset knowledge but light on "how to use OKX" material. Perhaps this also speaks to the confidence they have in their UI design that it would be fairly intuitive, hence less need for tutorials.
Both feature ample FAQ material to answer almost any question one might have about the platforms. OKX has a slight edge over Bitget by also offering a chatbot service.
OKX vs Bitget: Fees
At first glance, the maker fees for spot market from OKX seem to be slightly cheaper than Bitget. However, if you pay with the Bitget token BGB, they're both the same (0.08%). The taker fee for both sits at 0.1% but the BGB token gives the user a small discount, bringing both maker and taker fees to 0.08%. If you'd like a further reduction in fees on OKX, you'd need to be a VIP member, trading at a minimum of USD100k and above to get 0.06% for maker and 0.08% for taker fees.
Check out OKX's fee schedule here:
The Bitget fee schedule is available below for your reference:
For Coinbureau readers, you can get a further reduction of up to 20% if you get an account with our Bitget sign-up link.
When it comes to deposits and withdrawals, Bitget wins over OKX with the ability to make SEPA bank transfers and zero-fee deposits for EUR, GBP, and BRL. Bitget offers fiat-to-crypto deposits with lower or no fees rather than having to go through all sorts of third parties, which is what OKX has to contend with.ย
Here is a look at some of the cost-friendly methods to fund an account on Bitget:
One criticism against OKX is that it lacks fiat withdrawal functionality. This used to be a gripe against Bitget as well until January 2023, when they added this much-needed feature.
Crypto withdrawal fees on both platforms differ based on assets as shown in Bitget's fee schedule:
Pro Tip: Avoid "instant buy" features or card purchases as these usually result in much higher fees since you're paying for the convenience. Where possible go with bank account transfers even if it may take longer as fees are usually a lot less.
OKX vs Bitget: Security
OKX and Bitget, like any exchange worth its salt, pay heaps of attention to security. After all, it matters not a whit if you have the best features and the most beautiful UI but the security is on the shoddy side. All it takes is one breach and you're done for. Let's see how each of them fares in this area.
Below are the security measures taken by Bitget to secure customers' funds:
- Cold storage for funds
- Multi-signature authorisation for both internal fund transfers and withdrawals.
- Security monitoring and audits in partnership with security firms such as Suntwin, Armors, HEAP and Qingsong.
- Obtain 12 A+ rating from SSL labs for comprehensive security procedures.
- Listed as top 10 exchange in terms of security in 2020 by CER, as rated by their cybersecurity score (CSS).
- Implement Proof of Reserves for their BTC, ETH, and USDT holdings, which we will touch on later.
All these above goes to show how seriously Bitget treats security, which should give customers peace of mind when using their platform.
In addition to what Bitget has done, customers can also take the following action to secure their accounts:
- Enable 2FA for login and withdrawals.
- Whitelist IP addresses.
The customer end looks a bit thin here, so more effort in this area would be much appreciated. Perhaps the implementation of time locks or vault features can be considered in the future?
Turning our attention to OKX, they've also been hard at work on this front. One thing they can definitely crow over the rest is that they've not suffered any kind of security breach since 2017. They also take an unorthodox approach to security by using both online and offline storage coupled with multi-signature protection. In addition, they also create multiple backups with location-separated QR codes for key personnel. In other words, one bad apple or a single point of compromise within the company won't be enough to bring security down.
Other security measures include:
- A limit of 1000 BTC for each cold wallet and it is used once only.
- All private keys are encrypted and stored in an offline computer using AES technology. Of those, the offline ones are only accessible via QR codes, which exists in paper form and stored in bank vaults across several regions, all requiring physical access.
The majority of funds held by OKX are stored in offline, air-gapped cold storage environments while the hot wallets holding the rest require multi-sig authorisation and heaps of risk management methods to prevent unauthorized access.
If the worst should happen, OKX has a risk reserve fund set aside to reimburse users. While not FDIC-insured, this is probably as good as it'll get under the circumstances. Customers can rest easy knowing that all is not lost and that the OKX crypto exchange will take responsibility for lost funds.
As a customer, they can also do their part in securing their own accounts by doing the following:
- Login Password
- Email Verification
- 2FA for login
- Google Authenticator
- Mobile Verification
- Secondary password for withdrawals
- Anti-phishing code
Seeing the amount of effort put in by both exchanges reassures me that these aren't fly-by-night operations out for a quick buck. Both are truly here for the long game and intend to stay in the ring for as long as they can.
And now, onwards for a closer look at both exchanges!
OKX Review
OKX may not be familiar to the US, but it is a powerhouse in its own right. Based in Seychelles, home to many other crypto exchanges, the exchange is a spin-off from the OK Group, founded in 2013 by Xingming Xu. The exchange itself was established in 2017 as a subsidiary to OKCoin.
The platform itself has a good mix of products for both traders and non-traders alike. The former would relish their clean, easy-to-navigate interface together with the opportunity to trade spot, derivatives, margin, futures, perpetual swaps, and options markets. The latter can ape in on their range of Earn products for less risky ways to earn profit and also explore the Metaverse, NFTs, DeFi and GameFi dApps through OKX Wallet.
The trading interface has both a basic and advanced version suitable for both beginner and experienced traders. Those who are new to trading can learn through the Demo Trading feature to get themselves acquainted with fake money and test out their strategies.
There's also the OKX Learn section featuring crypto knowledge, trading ideas, and also some industry analysis to round up the information available to take full advantage of what the OKX crypto exchange has to offer.
Fiat and Cryptocurrencies Available on OKX
Buy crypto with over 90+ fiat currencies worldwide and swap them for 350+ crypto assets through the spot, margin, and derivatives markets using 500 trading pairs.
OKX Products
The number of products offered by the OKX exchange trumps Bitget by half a mile at least. Since this isn't a detailed review, we'll only provide highlights for them. If you're interested to learn more, check out our dedicated OKX review.
OKX Trading Platform
The trading section on the OKX exchange is separated into three sections:
Basic trading encompasses the Spot market and a simple version of Options. While it may not make sense for day traders or even swing traders, but I like that the trading interface has a maximum timeframe of 3 months, if you want to take the long view and see the really big picture. if you've never done options before, the UI makes it really easy to do so in three simple steps: Choose direction, Select options, and Buy options. Of course, options are really little more than gambling if you don't know what you're doing, so try at your own risk.
The Derivatives and Margin Trading section features Perpetual Swaps, Margins, Futures, and the more souped-up version of Options. Each of them features a slightly different trading interface with varying order types but all are easy to use.
- Perpetual Swaps and Futures allow you to execute Stop, Trailing Stop, Trigger, and Advanced limit orders.
- Margin allows you to execute Stop, Trailing Stop, and Trigger orders.
This is in addition to the standard Limit and Market orders available in every interface.
The Trading Bots section is one of the most popular features on OKX. It has more than 900k+ traders using its auto-trading functions. Aside from using what's available from the platform, users are also able to create their own bots via plug-and-play solutions. The bots from the platform come with their own stats and trading history, which allows traders to check their performance before making a decision.
Here are the types of bots available to choose from:
- Grid bot
- DCA bot
- Recurring buy bot
- Arbitrage bots
- Smart Portfolio rebalancing bot
- Slicing bots
If this is something of interest to you, please read our article on OKX Trading Bots.
If looking at trading charts is a bit too overwhelming for you, try the Convert feature which swaps between crypto and stablecoins. It's the easiest way to get in the game with zero fees and no slippage.
OKX Earnย
OKX is aware that there are many non-traders out there who are also looking for some passive income to increase their crypto holdings. To this end, they released a number of products catering to both low-risk and high-risk investors. These products also come in short and long-term durations, suitable for all sorts of risk appetites. Here's a brief description of each. For a more detailed dive-in, feel free to browse our OKX Earn article for more information.
- Savings - as the name implies, this is pretty much a straight-up savings scheme where you can earn anywhere from 1.00% to 207% (KNC!). All of these come with Flexible terms which allow you to withdraw anytime. Interest is earned on an hourly basis.
- Dual Investment - geared towards hodlers of two kinds of crypto, it uses the concept of "Buy Low" and "Sell High"ย to help you earn more BTC, ETH or USDT, depending on which one you're interested in. There is a lock-up period involved and you may lose your capital if there is sharp price fluctuation in the market.
- Fixed Incomeย - similar to savings, users can invest in crypto loans with varying duration and yield percentages. Only OKB, BTC, ETH, and USDT accepted. At the time of writing, there are no opportunities left for newcomers.
- Shark Fin - Based on what the price could be like in the next 7 days, you put money down on which way the wind blows. If you think the price is going down within certain range, and it turns out to be the case, then you can get a higher yield. Conversely, if the price falls outside of the range, you'll get a lower yield.
- OKX is squarely in the catch-up space with this product as Bitget was the first of the two to introduce this to the market. Hot off the press, this product recently launched on Feb 2nd so it's really the newest Earn product in OKX's stable.
- Staking - good ole' staking gets a slight twist in OKX's version where users stake based on duration. Longer lock-up periods = higher yields. There's also a limit to how much is accepted for each pot. Interestingly, the highest yields aren't always the ones to get sold out first, likely due to the long timeframe.
- Flash Deals - For those with a high appetite for risk, Flash Deals might be what you're looking for. Users have the chance to get some really dodgy-looking coins and stake them to earn some ridiculous APYs (52% for BTC up to 300% for MARS!). However, it's only for a few days, and they appear irregularly, which is one way to get people to keep their eyes glued to the page. As the slogan says "first come, first serve"!
DeFi - If just the mere mention of the word "DeFi" has your head spinning, give OKX's curated version a try. Traditionally, any interaction with a dApp involves self-custodial wallets and various networks, which can be a real headache for the newbie. Bearing this in mind, OKX took quite a different approach by integrating with the dAPPs on the back end while maintaining the same UI and feel as other OKX products, presenting a homogenised front.
A mini world unto itself, it features a handful of apps in each category that allows for plenty of exploration without being overwhelmed. There's Yield, Lending Pools, Decentralised Exchange featuring Sushiswap, and Staking.
ETH2.0 - stake your ETH in exchange for bETH on their platform and earn up to 5.09% interest.
OKX Loansย
OKX offers two kinds of loans available for borrowers, known as Flexible and Fixed loans. The APY and duration vary depending on the loan and there is also the option to do single-collateral or multi-collateral loans. For more on this topic, check out our OKX Loans review to learn more.
OKX Jumpstartย
In an attempt to attract new projects to their website, hoping to be the place to discover the "next great thing", which will then attract more users to its platform, most crypto exchanges feature a kind of launchpad space to highlight these new projects. OKX is no exception and theirs is known as Jumpstart. Gotta start somewhere to get a positive flywheel going, right?
Similar to how launchpads work on Binanceย andย KuCoin, users stake the native token OKB and get the project's tokens in return, pro-rated to their staked amount. The highest-profile project featured is Raydium on the Solana blockchain.
Be warned: investing in these start-up projects is risky as hell so read up all you can before investing AND keep a close eye on them after.
OKX Walletย
Aside from the exchange business, OKX also launched their own non-custodial wallet called OKX wallet. It's designed to give OKX users a taste of the Web3 world by allowing access to heaps of dApps in DeFi, Metaverse, NFTs and GameFi projects.
What they've done is set-up a one-stop Web3 hub and made it easy to use these dApps through their platform while introducing users to the Web3 world. This helps to reduce complexities if they were to go about it on their own. It's a great way to bring more newbies onboard the Web3 train while smoothing out the rocky bits.
We were actually so impressed by the OKX Web wallet that we did a dedicated OKX Wallet review.
Types of Accounts and OKX Fees
One thing that might be a bit of a strike against OKX is its KYC requirements. On one hand, KYC is a reassuring safety net, but on the other hand it means a centralised entity holds your personal information in their servers. Some consider KYC a double-edged sword, but if you want to trade crypto on OKX, you will need to provide KYC at all trading levels.ย
Whichever way you choose won't affect your fees much but the type of account you choose can. In general, there are two types: individual and corporate accounts. There's also a VIP program too but that's for those who have quite a high worth in asset holdings.
As mentioned above, OKX trading fees are very competitive in the market. However, the fees for purchasing crypto are highly dependent on the service provider chosen. The general rule of thumb is not to use anything similar to a "buy crypto" option using credit cards unless you are really desperate. Fees spent this way far exceeds what you would pay in bank charges if transferring from a bank.
Currently, OKX only has SEPA transfers which is popular in Europe and nowhere else. If you can find a way to buy crypto elsewhere and deposit them into OKX, all the better as those deposits are free. In all though, OKX fees are among the lowest you'll find anywhere.
OKX Security
OKX ranks #8 on the list of top Crypto exchanges in terms of Proof of Reserves by CER, far ahead of Bitget. In fact, it's the last one on the list that has the Merkle Proof green check mark and a link to show their PoR audit report. Their last audit date is also one of the most recent on the list, having just occurred on Nov 22nd last year.
According to their PoR webpage, OKX holds 105% of BTC and ETH each and 101% of USDT. Users are also invited to verify the safety of their own funds, whether held on the exchange or in the wallet.
Aside from funds safety that can be traced on-chain, there are also their own security measures which we've mentioned before but are worth emphasizing:
- A mixture of online and offline storage. The latter are air-gapped cold wallets that are never connected to the Internet, thus reducing attack vectors for hackers and malware.
- Key personnel around the world need to come together to have access to the funds via multi-signature protocols
- The funds themselves are stored in various bank vaults worldwide.
- An insurance fund, known as OKX Risk Shield, that's worth about $700 million has been set up to make users whole in the unlikely event of a breach in security. Income for the fund comes from a percentage of their earnings.
To find out more, check out our OKX Security Page. I promise it won't be boring even if the title seems to imply so.
Bitget Overview
What is Bitget?
Known mostly as an exchange for derivatives, Bitget was created back in 2018. With support for more than 500 tradable assets, aside from the range of features to satisfy most trading needs, it also offers other products such as Earn to non-traders.
Based in Seychelles, more than 5 million users can get on-ramp with Bitget via third-party providers such as Simplex and Banxa to name a few from more than 40+ fiat currencies around the world. This makes Bitget a platform of choice for many looking to join the crypto revolution from various parts of the world.
Despite a heavy amount of FUD in the crypto community, especially after the collapse of FTX, Bitget managed to retain its standing within the crypto-trading space. This is evident from its current position of #10 for spot and #5 for derivatives trading in terms of trading volume, according to Coingecko.
In the heyday of 2021 when a number of exchanges took some extraordinary marketing measures to grab market share (like those Superbowl ads), Bitget ignored the noise and didn't do anything special. I think they did the smart thing there because the more variety of customers you have, the more you are pressured to come up with offerings that may not be aligned with the focus of the company.
Besides, who's to say that they didn't indirectly benefit from the flash marketing campaigns? What those campaigns did is to introduce more people to crypto and if just 0.001% of those who joined Coinbase or Binance then graduated to other platforms like Bitget, everyone wins in the end.
If you are looking to get started with Bitget, Dan, our trading guru from the Coin Bureau Trading Channel has put together this fantastic Bitget Beginner's Guide:ย
Cryptocurrencies Available on Bitget
Bitget features a healthy selection of more than 500 cryptocurrencies for users to choose from for trading. It won't be difficult to find the top 100 cryptocurrencies on this platform or even beyond. Bitget also offers a launchpad product for you to discover new tokens. However, do be warned that these are extremely risky products. The best default mode to think about them is that they are more likely to be losers than sure-wins. Check out Bitget's Market pageย for a full list of what's available.
Bitget Products
Since this isn't a full review, we're only providing a general highlight of what's offered. If you'd like to learn more, please read our dedicatedย Bitget review.ย
Trading Platformย
Bitget's trading engine, integrated with TradingView, is one of the most solid things about the platform. Amongst what's offered includes:
- Futures - mainly for advanced traders, it has USDT-M Futures, USDC-M Futures, and Coin-M Futures and up to 125x leverage available.
- Spot Trading - for all levels of traders
- Spot Margin Trading - for those who have a higher risk appetite, this is where you can go to do a bit of leveraged trading.
- Megaswap -ย an alternate way to buy and sell crypto. It also supports cross-chain conversion of crypto based on live market prices. The gas fees for the conversion are taken from the stablecoin balance in the account and handled entirely by Bitget. Currently, six chains are supported for cross-chain swaps including ETH, BSC, Polygon, Fantom, OEC, and HECO.
- Strategy Trading - Available for both spot and futures trade, set up your grid-trading strategy here to automate your trades. To find out more about how this works, please give our ย Bitget Review a read. Be sure that you have a decent strategy going before trying this as it could end up as an expensive endeavour.
- Copy Trading
If you can't figure out your own secret sauce, it doesn't hurt to try others' secret sauce for starters. This is what the Copy Trading feature allows at Bitget. Use this to copy the trades of experienced traders by riding on their coattails. It can also be used when you are first dipping your toes into the trading game by observing how others make their trades and using it as a learning tool or even doing some passive trading on the side.
How do you know which ones are worth copying? Check out the number of followers, ROI, AUM and P&L of the traders you have an interest in copying. Do some comparisons before plunging in.
When trading with Bitget, there are two position modes available to choose from:
- Cross 3X - Deposit funds into this trading account to be used as margin. While it may help with losses, you'd also need to keep track of how much is available to trade.
- Isolated - Each position will be treated as its own, including any risks associated with the trade.
Spot trades have two order types available: Limit and Market which is also available for Trigger Orders.
Those who like to trade constantly are also served with the Bitget app with a high rating.
Bitget Earn
Apart from having traders as their core constituents, Bitget is also interested in roping in some non-trader customers. These are the ones who have less of a risk appetite than traders but who have some capital to spare for earning some yield. For this group, Bitget offers a nice selection of Earn products to whet their appetite.
Here is a list of what they currently offer with a brief description:
- Savings - get anywhere from 0.40% to 8% with a handful of assets. Interest is paid out daily and there is no lock-up period. You can also DCA into this with the Auto-Transfer option, which moves your funds from your spot account to the Savings account daily.
- Bitget Launchpool - another way to earn yield is to stake new tokens to earn a much higher yield in a few pools. APYs can range from 18.33% to 24.76%. However, there is a fixed duration for how long the pools remain open.
- Shark Fin - another decent yield program recently launched, this is similar to Savings except there is a 7-day lock-up period and the interest that can be earned varies from one pot to another. Only BTC and USDT are accepted into this program. It combines fixed-income products and derivatives. It's promoted as capital-guaranteed, which might raise an eyebrow or two.
- Dual-Investment - similar to what OKX has to offer.
- BGB Earn - Instead of risking tokens from other projects, you could dogfood into their own BGB token with this program. Buy and deposit the BGB token into the earn program to earn between 3.5% (3-day lock-up) to 6% (7-day lock-up).ย
Bitget Launchpad
While not quite in the same vein as the other Earn products, Bitget Launchpad is a way for you to FOMO into the super-early (read: risky) stages of a new project. You can pretend to be a VC as the platform allows you to get in on these projects before they are made public. This gives you the opportunity to buy the project tokens before it takes off (if it does!).
There have only been 3 projects launched on it so far, and the quality seems to be a bit so-so when you read up on the project details. Whether you're able to spot the next big thing is pretty much the luck of the draw where things are concerned. It's still got quite a ways to go if it wants to catch up on some of the other more established launchpads by Binance, KuCoin or on decentralised launchpads like TrustSwap.
Types of Accounts and Bitget Fees
Bitget users only need to sign up for one account and there are no fees associated with it. If you deposit crypto, that's free too but if you were to buy crypto, you'd have to go through third-party payment providers, who'll likely charge you an arm and a leg in fees. Fortunately, Bitget recently launched zero-fee bank transfer deposits for GBP, EUR, and BRL and now supports fiat withdrawals ๐ย
Once you have an account, then there will be Bitget trading fees in the form of maker and taker fees to contend with. The amount depends on what kind of trades you do:
- Spot: Fixed fee of 0.1% for maker and taker
- Futures: 0.02% maker/0.06% taker
If you want to pay fewer fees than most, there's also the option of paying for them with Bitget's native BGB token. This will give you a 20% discount.
For crypto withdrawal fees, it depends on the asset you want to withdraw and the network you want to use for the withdrawal. The list of withdrawal fees can be found on theย Bitget Fees Page.
Pro tip: when withdrawing crypto, always check the network the receiving address is on to ensure that funds are transferred safely. It's no use using a cheaper network if you don't get your funds!
Bitget Security
As mentioned previously, Bitget pays a lot of attention to security. Most of the funds are kept offline in cold wallets, and they use multi-sig mechanisms to minimise attack vectors to the platform. It helps that they received 12 A+ ratings from SSL labs and that CER, an independent security auditing company, also named them as one of the most secure exchanges in 2020.ย
In Bitget's Proof of Reserves page, they mentioned a total reserve ratio of 227% for BTC, ETH, and USDT combined. A Merkle root hash is displayed and also impressive reserve ratios individually for BTC, USDT and ETH. They've also revealed their reserve details and wallet details for anyone to check if they so desire.
Bitget has also launched a protection fund, currently valued at USD300 million, ensuring that users can be made whole up to that amount. These funds are used if accounts are compromised or assets are stolen through no fault of the user.
OKX vs Bitget: Conclusion
By this time, coming to the end of our reviews, I trust that we have laid out the good and the ugly of these two platforms for you to consider. Which one to use comes down not only to a matter of personal preference, but also what kind of features you're looking for. Serious traders might give Bitget more than a passing glance while those curious about Web3 might want to ease themselves via OKX's clean platform. Feel free to compare the Earn products from both platforms as I believe the yields are quite solid from both of them.
If you still can't make your mind up, why don't you give both a try? That's the best way to compare! You can sign-up with us for an account with OKX and enjoy a 40% discount on spot trading fees. Or sign-up for Bitget and get 60% off trading fees. Just like the Pepsi-Cola taste test, you won't know until you try!
Frequently Asked Questions
No, as per December 2022, Bitget halted their services to US and Canadian-based users.
Despite not being as well-known as some of the other bigger exchanges around, the Bitget crypto exchange is a solid name amongst professional traders. They offer a nice variety of trading options thatโs enough to cater for most trading activity. Thereโs also a decent selection of Earn products for those looking to invest rather than trade. Bitget is also respected for their approach to security.
There is also the Bitget app which is popular among users and highly rated for traders who like crypto trading on the go.
The Bitget crypto exchange is reputable and takes the appropriate steps required to keep user assets safe. However, it is important to note that Bitget is an unlicensed and unregulated exchange and is no longer considered a top ten secure exchange according to Certified, an independent security auditor.
As one of the exchanges with well-published proof of reserves, OKX implements a solid security plan to safeguard funds for users. Having been around since 2016 and not suffered any major hacks, I think theyโre really here for the long haul.
Disclaimer: These are the writerโs opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.