Aster vs OKX

Aster or OKX: which to use

Aster vs OKX is a decentralized exchange against a centralized one. On Aster you trade from your own wallet without ID, at 0 bp maker and 4 bp taker and up to 300x. OKX requires advanced verification before you trade, deposit or withdraw, holds your funds in an account, and charges 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, with up to 100x. OKX lists more stock, commodity and FX perps; Aster lists more markets overall. Custody, ID and leverage decide it for most traders.

How each exchange is built

Aster is a decentralized exchange (DEX) on BNB Chain. You trade from a self-custody wallet. It matches orders on a central limit order book.

OKX is a centralized exchange (CEX): you open an account with the company, and the account holds your funds. It also matches orders on a central limit order book.

For the trader, the difference is custody. On Aster your funds stay in your wallet. On OKX your funds sit in the account, and you use it after verification.

Fees and what they mean

Aster's base tier is 0 bp maker and 4 bp taker, per Aster's fee page. OKX's is 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, per OKX's fee page.

A market order pays the taker fee to open and again to close: 8 bp per round trip on Aster, 10 bp on OKX. A limit order that rests on the book pays the maker fee instead: 0 bp on Aster and 2 bp on OKX.

The fee is only part of a trade's cost. The rest is slippage, the price you move by eating through the order book, which grows with size. The cost table above adds both at each size, and every exchange's trading cost is compared on one page.

Markets and leverage

As of 1 October 2026 Aster lists 588 active perps, 133 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. OKX lists 480, 191 of them real-world assets. If you trade stocks and commodities, OKX has more of them. If you want the larger list overall, Aster has more markets in total.

Aster allows up to 300x and OKX up to 100x on their highest-leverage markets. Most markets allow less on both, so check the market you plan to trade.

Funding is the periodic payment between longs and shorts. Aster pays every 1 hour, 4 hours or 8 hours depending on the market. OKX pays every 4 hours or 8 hours. An hourly market settles 24 times a day, an 8-hour market three times, so the interval sets how fast a position accrues or earns funding. The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have, each one's funding rate and the spread between them.

Who can use them

Aster asks for no ID to trade, though its terms keep a right to limited checks. It is closed to the US, Canada, the UK, China, Russia, Ukraine and sanctioned countries. OKX requires advanced verification before trading, deposits or withdrawals.

Vaults and tokens

Aster runs ALP (Aster Liquidity Pool), a vault operated by the exchange. It takes the other side of traders' positions, so depositors carry the traders' profit and loss. Burning ALP locks the withdrawal for 48 hours, and the mint and burn fee is 0.25% ± 0.05%. Aster's token is $ASTER, and as of 19 September 2026 its points and airdrop program was at "Stage 5". OKX's token is $OKB.

Reading the numbers on this page

Both exchanges publish open interest as one side of open positions, so the open interest row and chart above compare like with like.

OKX has no TVL, as is usual for a centralized exchange, so the TVL row and chart show Aster alone. That figure is DefiLlama's number for the deposits Aster's bridge holds. Volume, open interest and funding are live in the Head to head table, and the article does not quote them.

Which one fits you

• Pick Aster if you want to keep funds in your own wallet and trade without ID.
• Pick Aster if you need more than 100x: it offers up to 300x on its highest-leverage market.
• Pick Aster if you place limit orders: 0 bp maker against 2 bp, and 4 bp taker against 5 bp.
• Pick Aster if you want hourly funding on some markets, or a vault to deposit in.
• Pick OKX if you prefer an exchange account and accept advanced verification.
• Pick OKX if you trade stocks, commodities or FX: 191 markets against 133.

For other pairs, see every exchange comparison.