Bybit vs OKX 2026: Security, Proof of Reserves, Past Incidents, Fees and Earn Compared

Bybit is one of the two exchanges I have used the longest. I started using OKX later because its fee discount percentage was higher, and I am now VIP 1 there. I have accounts at both, and this article compares them side by side: security, past incidents, licences, fees and earn products.

The short version: OKX’s fees are slightly lower for regular users, Bybit’s proof of reserves is verified by a third party, and each has one major event you should know about. About US$1.5 billion was stolen from Bybit in 2025, but withdrawals kept running; OKX suspended withdrawals for about six weeks in 2020 and pleaded guilty in the US in 2025. If you often keep USDT in your trading account and have VIP 1, OKX’s Auto Earn is more convenient. If you only want to put a few hundred USDT into earn, Bybit’s flexible rate on the first 200 USDT is higher.

This article shares my own experience and research. It is not investment, tax or legal advice. Fees, rates, licences and service regions can change; every figure here is from the date shown, so check both exchanges’ official pages before you act. This site does not give advice on futures or leveraged trading; futures fees are listed only so readers can compare costs.

Bybit and OKX at a glance

Reserve and fee figures are from 8 October 2026 and earn rates from 7 October; order book depth comes from CoinGecko (8 October). The two boxes below show each exchange’s rating and key data, taken from the same data as my rating table:

Bybit key factsData checked: 2026-10-08

As of 2026-10-08, Bybit's general-user spot taker fee is 0.1% and its futures taker fee is 0.055%. Its 2026-09-23 proof of reserves showed BTC 104%, ETH 103%, USDT 110%.

Item	Details	Source
Jason Finance rating	57.2 / 100	rating method
Highlights	Hacken-verified monthly proof of reserves 2025 hack: users made whole, withdrawals stayed open EU MiCA authorisation
General-user fees (taker)	Spot 0.1%, futures 0.055%	2026-10-08
Invitation code fee discount	Official sign-up offer (not a fee discount)	2026-10-07
Proof of reserves	2026-09-23 (monthly): BTC 104%, ETH 103%, USDT 110%	2026-10-08
Main licences and registrations	EU MiCA (Austria FMA), UAE SCA licence, India FIU registration	source 1 source 2 source 3
Order book depth (±2%)	BTC/USDT about 8.2M USD, ETH/USDT about 4.1M USD	2026-10-08

OKX key factsData checked: 2026-10-08

As of 2026-10-08, OKX's general-user spot taker fee is 0.1% and its futures taker fee is 0.05%; signing up with the invitation code gives a 20% trading fee discount. Its 2026-09-08 proof of reserves showed BTC 109%, ETH 101%, USDT 105%.

Item	Details	Source
Jason Finance rating	63.6 / 100	rating method
Highlights	Monthly zk-STARK proof of reserves Auto Earn on idle VIP trading balances EU MiCA and Dubai VARA licences
General-user fees (taker)	Spot 0.1%, futures 0.05%	2026-10-08
Invitation code fee discount	20% trading fee discount	2026-10-07
Proof of reserves	2026-09-08 (monthly): BTC 109%, ETH 101%, USDT 105%	2026-10-08
Main licences and registrations	EU MiCA (Malta MFSA), Dubai VARA licence, Singapore MAS licence, Australia AUSTRAC registration	source 1 source 2 source 3 source 4
USDT withdrawals	Cheapest Arbitrum 0.0033 USDT; 6 common networks supported	2026-10-08
Order book depth (±2%)	BTC/USDT about 15.3M USD, ETH/USDT about 8.9M USD	2026-10-08

Security: proof of reserves and past incidents

Proof of reserves: Bybit has third-party verification, OKX uses zk-STARK

Both publish a proof of reserves roughly once a month, and both let you use a Merkle tree to check that your own account was included. The differences:

• Bybit’s reports are independently verified by Hacken and cover the 50 largest coins by asset size (the Bybit review has the detailed figures).
• OKX uses a Merkle tree plus zk-STARK zero-knowledge proofs, and its verification code is open source, but its latest report does not state any third-party verification (see the OKX review).

Both show ratios above 100% for their main assets. A proof of reserves is a snapshot at one point in time, not a financial audit. For what it can and cannot prove, see “How to check proof of reserves”.

Past incidents: one was hacked, the other froze withdrawals and pleaded guilty

Bybit: on 21 February 2025, an Ethereum multisig cold wallet was attacked. Bybit put the loss at about US$1.46 billion, and the US FBI attributed the attack to a North Korean hacking group. Bybit said user assets remained backed 1:1, that it processed 99.994% of more than 350,000 withdrawal requests within about 10 hours, and that it closed the ETH shortfall within about 72 hours.

OKX: I found no record of its exchange custody wallets being hacked, but there are two events. On 16 October 2020, because one of its private key holders was cooperating with a Chinese public security investigation, it suspended crypto withdrawals until 26 November, about six weeks in total. In February 2025 it admitted to violating anti-money-laundering rules in the US and paid more than US$504 million; it was also fined in the Netherlands and Malta that year.

The two kinds of events mean different things. Bybit’s shows that even a cold wallet can be breached, but that Bybit could absorb the loss itself and kept withdrawals running. OKX’s events relate to private key management and compliance, and at the time users could not withdraw their coins for a while.

Licences and restricted regions

The full lists are in each exchange’s terms of service; sources are in the licence sections of the “Bybit review” and the “OKX review”.

Fees: OKX is slightly cheaper for regular users

From both exchanges’ official fee schedules on 8 October 2026, for regular users (VIP 0):

In money terms: buying 1,000 USDT of spot at market costs 1 USDT in fees at either exchange; if a limit order fills as a maker, it costs 0.8 USDT at OKX and 1 USDT at Bybit. The VIP 1 threshold is the same at both: US$100,000 in assets or US$1 million in 30-day spot volume. Signing up with an invitation code gets you an additional official fee discount; both exchanges’ percentages are in the invitation code boxes at the end of this article, and how the discount is calculated is in “What is a crypto exchange fee discount”.

Deposit networks and withdrawals

• BEP20: Bybit accepts USDT deposits on BNB Smart Chain (BEP20); OKX supports it for neither USDT deposits nor withdrawals. If you are sending from somewhere that commonly uses BEP20, such as Binance, choose a network both sides have instead.
• Supported by both: TRC20, ERC20, Solana, TON and Arbitrum.
• Withdrawal fees: OKX’s published minimum USDT withdrawal fees are 1.5 on TRC20, 0.32 on Solana and about 0.0033 USDT on Arbitrum. Bybit’s withdrawal fees are shown only on the withdrawal page after logging in, and I found no public figures I could verify.

For a comparison of withdrawal fees by exchange and network, and the steps for choosing a network, see “How to choose a USDT withdrawal network”.

Earn: Bybit for small amounts, OKX for idle trading account funds

• Bybit Easy Earn: on 7 October 2026, flexible USDT paid an estimated 7.2% APR on the first 200 USDT and 2.2% on the rest, redeemable at any time. The more you deposit, the closer your overall rate gets to 2.2%.
• OKX Simple Earn: the USDT market lending rate is about 3.0 to 3.5%, and OKX keeps 15% of the yield. The 10% shown on the page is a new-user reward, limited to 500 USDT for 180 days.
• OKX Auto Earn: available only to VIP 1 through VIP 9. Idle USDT in the trading account is lent out and earns interest without being transferred. This is the OKX feature I use most: from switching it on on 21 August 2026 to 7 October, it earned about 317 USDT in total.

Rates change daily and are not guaranteed. For what extra risks exchange earn products carry compared with short-term US Treasuries, Aave and Bitfinex lending, see “Where to park idle USD and USDT”.

Who Bybit and OKX each suit

Neither can be used in Hong Kong, Canada and some other places, so check that your region is not on the restricted list before you sign up. Whichever you choose, only keep on it what you can afford to lose, and keep long-term holdings in a cold wallet where you hold the private keys yourself.

For comparisons with other exchanges, see “How to choose a crypto exchange” and the “international exchange fee comparison”.

Bybit and OKX invitation codes

More articles are on the crypto topic page.

FAQ

Which is safer, Bybit or OKX?

They carry different risks. Bybit's proof of reserves is verified by Hacken; about US$1.5 billion was stolen from it in February 2025, but withdrawals were not suspended and the ETH shortfall was closed within about 72 hours. OKX publishes a zk-STARK proof of reserves every month, and I found no record of its exchange custody wallets being hacked, but it suspended withdrawals for about six weeks in 2020 and pleaded guilty in the US in 2025, paying more than US$504 million.

Which has lower fees, Bybit or OKX?

For regular users (VIP 0), OKX is cheaper on spot: OKX charges 0.08% maker and 0.10% taker, Bybit 0.1% for both. On futures both charge 0.02% maker; taker is 0.05% at OKX and 0.055% at Bybit (official fee schedules, 8 October 2026).

Is the VIP 1 threshold the same at Bybit and OKX?

Yes. Both require US$100,000 in assets or US$1 million in 30-day spot volume; meeting either one is enough.

Which lets me deposit USDT on BEP20, OKX or Bybit?

On 7 October 2026, Bybit accepted USDT deposits on BNB Smart Chain (BEP20), while OKX supported BEP20 for neither USDT deposits nor withdrawals. Both support TRC20, ERC20, Solana, TON and Arbitrum.

Should idle USDT go into Bybit or OKX earn products?

It depends on the amount and your VIP level. On 7 October 2026, Bybit's flexible USDT paid an estimated 7.2% APR on the first 200 USDT and 2.2% on the rest; OKX Simple Earn's USDT market lending rate was about 3.0 to 3.5%, and OKX keeps 15% of the yield. At VIP 1 and above, OKX can also lend out idle funds in the trading account automatically. Rates change daily and are not guaranteed.