OKX vs Trade Republic Comparison

In short: OKX is one of the large international crypto exchanges and serves investors in the EU through OKX Europe, licensed under MiCA in Malta. You can trade more than 280 crypto-assets, from 0.10% maker and 0.20% taker on a spot-only account, or from 0.08% and 0.10% with a spot and derivatives account. Add futures up to 10x, trading bots, tokenised stocks, a recurring-buy savings plan and the OKX Card. If you want a regulated exchange with a wide range of features and low fees, OKX is a strong choice.

Is OKX safe and licensed in the EU?

Yes, OKX may serve customers across the EU. OKX Europe Limited, based in Sliema, Malta, has been authorised as a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA since 27 January 2025, granted by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). Through the EU passport the licence covers 29 EEA countries, including Germany, France and Spain (ESMA register, file of 30 October 2026). It covers, among other things, custody, operating a trading platform, exchanging crypto-assets for funds and for other crypto-assets, executing orders, portfolio management and transfers. According to OKX, it also holds MiFID II and payment institution authorisations.

Reserves: OKX regularly publishes a proof of reserves, most recently its 46th report as of 3 October 2026: coverage of 110% for Bitcoin, 100% for Ether, 105% for USDT and 101% for USDC (OKX proof of reserves).

What you can do yourself: the anti-phishing code you set in your account protects you against scams with fake emails, because it appears in every genuine email from OKX. Add two-factor authentication or a passkey, a withdrawal address whitelist and, for larger amounts, your own hardware wallet.

Who is OKX for?

OKX suits investors in the EU who want to trade actively on a licensed exchange: spot, futures, bots and tokenised stocks on one platform, with low order book fees. If you mainly want a savings plan in a lean app, take a look at Bitvavo or Bitpanda; Kraken is another large exchange with a MiCA licence. All licensed providers are listed in our comparison of regulated crypto exchanges.

Trade Republic is considered one of the best-known neobrokers in the DACH region and is used by many users as an entry point into the world of cryptocurrencies. Trade Republic is a bank supervised by BaFin and, in addition to 50 cryptocurrencies, also offers stocks, ETFs, and derivatives from a single source. By its own account it is one of the first banks in Europe authorised under the EU's MiCA regulation; ESMA's register has listed the crypto services of Trade Republic Bank GmbH since 28 April 2025, notified to BaFin as a bank under Article 60 of MiCA. Users appreciate that Trade Republic charges no order commission; each single order costs a flat EUR 1, savings plans run without it, and the remaining costs arise through the spread, whose transparency is occasionally rated as room for improvement.

Particularly appreciated are the savings plans from €1, which make it easy to get started with regular crypto investing. For investors who want to manage crypto, stocks, and ETFs in a single app, Trade Republic is considered one of the most accessible solutions on the German market. The app is described as intuitive and clearly geared toward beginners and occasional investors.

The Crypto Wallet lets you send cryptocurrencies to external wallets and receive them from there, according to Trade Republic without any transaction fees of its own. The SMS-based 2FA security is also considered room for improvement. Trade Republic is therefore especially suitable for investors looking for a regulated, uncomplicated way to access cryptocurrencies as part of a broad securities offering and who want to be able to move their coins to a wallet of their own.