How to Register on OKX in 2026: From Zero to Your First Coin

If this is your first time signing up for a crypto exchange, odds are the problem isn't "I can't use it" — it's that you get stuck on the very first few steps. You open the page and it asks for your country, whether to use email, where the invite code goes, what document KYC wants… a string of little decisions, and you're worried one wrong pick means starting over.

This guide is written for exactly that. We've broken opening an OKX account (OKX, formerly OKEx) into five steps, and for each one we tell you where to click, what to enter, and where the traps are. Follow along and you can go from "no account" to "bought your first coin" in about fifteen minutes. If you're registering internationally and only hold a passport — no problem, we've flagged those cases too.

✅ What this gets you The full order of register → invite code → KYC → funding → buy, in one read; the spot in each step where people most often slip up; and the assurance you won't skip the fee-saving invite code OK2707 while registering.

What's in this guide

First, know what OKX actually is
A few things to have ready
Step 1: Create your account
Step 2: Enter invite code OK2707
Step 3: KYC identity verification
Step 4: Fund via P2P, buy USDT
Step 5: Buy a coin + lock down your account
Registration FAQ

01First, get clear on what OKX is

While searching you may have run into a couple of names: OKX and OKEx. They're the same exchange. OKX is the current brand name; OKEx is the older name it used before rebranding in 2022. You'll still see the old name floating around in older articles, but it's one platform.

OKX is one of the larger, mainstream crypto exchanges — it has spot trading, futures, and a Web3 wallet. As a beginner, all you really need to know is this: here you can turn ordinary money into digital currency (via peer-to-peer trading) and then buy coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It started out headquartered in Beijing, later moved its base offshore as regulations shifted (it's currently registered in the Seychelles), and remains an international platform open to users worldwide.

⚠️ Know the real site first OKX's only official domain is okx.com. Search results are full of lookalike and phishing sites — don't go in through some link of unknown origin. Every "Sign up" button on this site points to the official okx.com.

02Get these few things ready before you start

No need to download a pile of stuff in advance. This is all you need:

An email or phone number you check often — for registering and receiving verification codes. Pick one you can access right away.
A strong password — letters, numbers, and symbols, and not reused from another site.
One government-issued ID — for KYC verification. A passport, national ID card, or similar all work, and a passport usually has the highest approval rate.
Invite code OK2707 — you enter it during signup, and once it's bound, a share of your trading fees gets rebated back. Keep it handy so you don't forget when you get to that step.

You can register on either phone or computer. We'd suggest installing the OKX app on your phone, because the face-scan part of KYC has to be done in the app — getting it set up early makes the rest smoother.

03Step 1: Create your account

Open okx.com (or any "Sign up for OKX" button on this site) and click "Sign up" in the top right. The whole thing is just a few taps:

Choose email or phone signup

Either works. For email: enter your address → click "Send code" → grab the code from your inbox and type it back in. Phone signup is the same, except the code comes by text. If the code doesn't arrive, check spam first, or switch to the other method.

Set a login password

Mix letters, numbers, and symbols, at least 8 characters. This is the first lock on your account — don't take the lazy route with a weak password.

Pick your country / region

This has to match the ID you'll use for KYC later. If you plan to verify with a passport, select the nationality on that passport, honestly. Pick wrong and your verification won't line up later, and you'll have to redo it.

Enter invite code OK2707 at the bottom

There's an "Invite/Referral code" field at the bottom of the signup page that's usually collapsed, so you have to expand it and type in OK2707. More on this in the next section — it directly affects whether you save on fees on every future trade.

Submit and finish

Tick the terms box → submit. When you land on your account home page, you're registered. You have an account now, but you still can't buy or sell coins yet — the next gate is KYC.

Sign up with code OK2707 for up to 20% off trading fees Actual benefits depend on OKX’s current promotion. Aboard is an independent affiliate; the platform may pay us a referral fee at no extra cost to you.

Open OKX registration →

04Step 2: Enter invite code OK2707 (don't skip this)

Plenty of people just ignore the invite-code field at signup, and end up paying more in fees for nothing. Here's exactly what it does:

OKX's system is to charge you the full 100% fee as usual, then rebate a portion of it back to your funding account. Once invite code OK2707 is bound, a share of your spot and futures trading fees is rebated automatically (currently up to 20%, subject to OKX's current program), settled hourly, with nothing extra for you to do.

⚠️ You only get one shot The invite code binds at the moment you register. Try to add it after signup and it basically won't take effect. So before you submit, make sure the field at the bottom says OK2707. This is the single easiest "could've saved money but missed it" step in the whole process.

How to confirm it took effect and where to check the rebate? We wrote a separate piece: How to enter invite code OK2707: the right way to get up to 20% off fees.

05Step 3: KYC identity verification

With the account created, you need to clear KYC (identity verification) before you can trade. An unverified account can't use most deposit, withdrawal, or trading features.

Verification is done in the app: open the OKX app → tap your avatar in the top left → tap your nickname/account → find "Identity verification" → "Verify now". The flow is two steps: upload your ID + face scan.

What if you don't have a national ID card?

This is where people registering internationally most often get stuck. The good news: OKX KYC accepts more than one type of document, not just one country's national ID:

Document type	Who it's for	Approval rate / notes
Passport	Anyone with a passport	Higher; recommended first choice
National ID card	Anyone with a national ID	Works fine
Residence permit / regional travel document	Where applicable	Supported
Driver's license	Some countries	Supported in some regions
International driving permit	Some regions	Partially supported; check the page

The key is that your nationality, your ID, and the region you chose at signup all need to match. Shoot a clear photo of the document with all four corners in frame and no glare, do the face scan somewhere well-lit, and it usually passes on the first try.

📋 KYC walkthrough
To run KYC with a passport, you upload the front and back of the document plus a face scan, and the system usually returns a result within a few minutes. The most common reason for a rejection is glare on the document photo washing out the key details. Tip: shoot near a window in daylight, and don't use a beauty-filter camera — reshooting under better light almost always clears it.

For a more detailed breakdown by situation (how to fill in with different documents, what to do if you're rejected), see: How to pass KYC with a passport or non-standard ID.

06Step 4: Fund via P2P, buy USDT

Once you've cleared KYC, you can turn ordinary money into digital currency. A beginner's first deposit usually goes through P2P (peer-to-peer) trading: the platform matches you with a merchant who holds USDT, you pay them with your local bank transfer or card, and they release the USDT to your account. (payment methods vary by country) USDT is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar — think of it as your "cash" in crypto; you need it before you can buy Bitcoin and the like.

The rough path: app home → Buy crypto → P2P / Express buy → pick USDT, enter an amount, choose a payment method → confirm the order → pay using the account details the merchant gives you → tap "I've paid" after transferring → wait for the merchant to release the coins.

⚠️ Funding pitfalls Pick merchants with high volume and good reviews; when you pay, don't put words like "USDT / crypto / digital currency" in the transfer memo; and pay from an account in your own name. These details affect your money's safety and your bank account's risk — we cover them closely in the P2P funding safety guide, worth a read before your first deposit.

07Step 5: Buy your first coin, then lock down your account

With USDT in your funding account, you can buy a coin: in "Trade/Spot", pick a pair like BTC/USDT, enter the amount you want to spend, buy at market, and it fills in seconds. Congratulations — your first coin is yours.

Before you close the page, spend 5 minutes getting your account security right — this is the thing people most often regret skipping:

Turn on an authenticator app (2FA): a rotating code on login and withdrawal cuts your theft risk dramatically.
Set an anti-phishing code: after this, every official OKX email carries the code you chose. Any email without it is phishing — spotted at a glance.
Fund password / withdrawal address whitelist: adds another lock on withdrawals.

Where to find these and how to set them up, in 5 minutes: Post-signup security: 2FA + anti-phishing code.

🎉 And you're on board Register → invite code → KYC → funding → buy: five steps done, and you can now operate on your own. Want to learn how to save more on fees or how to withdraw? Browse all our guides and pick what you need.

08Registration FAQ

How long does it take to go from signup to buying a coin?

Signup itself takes 1–2 minutes. KYC review is usually a few minutes to half an hour, possibly longer at peak times. P2P funding depends on how fast the merchant releases the coins — generally a few minutes. If all goes smoothly, you can buy your first coin within half an hour.

What if the verification code never arrives?

For email, check spam and promotions folders first; for phone, wait a minute and resend, or switch between the email and phone methods. If it still won't come, try a different network and retry.

I forgot to enter the invite code at signup — can I still add it?

Basically no. The invite code binds once, at registration, and adding it later usually doesn't work. If you haven't registered yet, just remember to enter OK2707 at the bottom this time.

Is it risky to use crypto where I live?

Crypto rules vary a lot by country — some places restrict or ban it, others tax it. Whether you can legally take part is for you to check against your local laws, and the outcome is on you. This site only provides information; it isn't encouragement or advice.

Aboard EditorialAn independent third-party guide focused on getting beginners through crypto exchange signup. We don't make investment decisions for you — we just clear the onboarding path.

Affiliate disclosure: Aboard is an independent third-party guide with no affiliation to OKX. This article contains referral links; if you register and enter the invite code through them, you pay the same standard fees. That fee is paid by the platform, adds nothing to your cost, and doesn't affect our objectivity. Rebate figures like "up to 20%" are subject to OKX's current official program rules.