How to sign up for OKX, with referral code (checked November 2026)

· 4 min read

OKX sign-up binds both an email and a phone number: pick your country, enter your email and referral code, confirm the email code, add your phone, confirm the SMS code. The referral code can only be entered at sign-up. It can't be added or changed later, which is stricter than Binance or Bybit. Open the sign-up page through this site's referral link and the code is filled in. After signing up, verify your identity, since without it you can't deposit or trade.

OKX referral code 38991983 Register ↗ Up to 20% trading fee rebate. Set by the referrer and adjustable; the registration page shows the current rate. Registering with this code earns this site a referral commission paid by the exchange.

1. Three things to know before you sign up

The referral code only goes in at sign-up. OKX’s own FAQ puts it this way: the referral relationship is confirmed only through the referral code, so enter it correctly when you register. Once registration or identity verification is complete it can’t be added or changed. Binance gives you 30 days to bind one later and Bybit lets you add an affiliate code within 14 days. OKX gives you nothing. Open the sign-up page through the “Register” link above and the code is filled in for you. If it isn’t, type it on the sign-up page.

Both an email and a phone number are required. OKX won’t let you register with just one of them, and each email and phone number can register one account only.

OKX publishes its restricted list: parts of the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Uzbekistan and Crimea among others. Vietnam, Nigeria and Pakistan are not on it. The country you pick at sign-up decides which products and which fiat currency you can use, so pick where you actually live.

2. Sign up in five steps

  1. Open the app or the website and tap “Sign up”. Pick your country or region, tick the box for the Terms of Service, the Risk and Compliance Disclosure and the Privacy Notice, and tap “Create account”.
  2. Enter your email and the referral code. The code field is marked optional. Check that it holds the code above, then tap “Sign up”.
  3. Enter the code sent to your email.
  4. Add your phone number with the right country code and tap “Next”.
  5. Enter the SMS code. Done.

Use a long-lived email like Gmail or Outlook. Verification codes, password recovery and identity verification notices all go there. The phone number should be one you keep, since changing it later means security checks.

3. Two things to do right after signing up

First, identity verification. OKX’s rule is that an unverified account can’t buy or sell, deposit or withdraw, or make internal transfers. Go straight to it after signing up. See the identity verification guide.

Second, security settings. In account settings bind Google Authenticator or set up a passkey, which withdrawals require. OKX also holds withdrawals for a while after a password or phone number change, so do all the security settings on day one.

4. What if I forgot the referral code

There is no fix. OKX’s FAQ states plainly that a referral code can’t be added or changed after registration, and support won’t do it either. The only workaround is to close the account before identity verification and sign up again through the referral link, but each email and phone number registers once, so you’d need a different pair. Once identity verification is done it’s final. One ID can verify one account.

So the order on OKX is: confirm the code is in, then tap sign up.

5. What the referral code gives you

Two separate things.

First, new-user welcome rewards. After signing up with the code, the app’s Rewards Center shows “Welcome Rewards” tasks, usually one reward each for completing identity verification, a first deposit and a first trade. Some are fixed amounts, some are mystery boxes. Tasks and amounts differ by region, campaign period and sign-up channel, so what your own Rewards Center page shows is what counts. Rewards carry a 7-day lock-up and unlock automatically afterwards.

Second, a fee rebate. The referrer can set a fee rebate rate for the users they invite, and once set it can only go up, not down. This site’s link is set to the top tier, up to 20% on spot, with the exact figure shown on the sign-up page. The rebate is calculated trade by trade and paid to your account.

Step 1Register
Step 2Verify identity
Step 3Deposit
Step 4Buy stocks

6. FAQ

Can I sign up without a referral code?
Yes, the field can be left blank. The difference is no welcome rewards and no fee rebate.
What if the referral link won't open?
OKX’s own suggestion: ask the referrer for a QR code to scan, or sign up directly in the app and type the referral code by hand.
Can I open two accounts?
No. One email, one phone number and one ID each map to one account. If you have an old unverified account you want to fold into a new one, OKX has a process for migrating the email and phone number.
Can I sign up from Nigeria now?
Yes. OKX left Nigeria in August 2024 and restored full service in July 2026. Existing users redo identity verification once.