VALR is an unregulated South-African cryptocurrency exchange, founded in 2019. Clients can access over 60 crypto assets with opportunities to earn staking and market making rewards. The broker also offers a QR code payment service.
OKX is a respected cryptocurrency firm, established in 2017, that offers a large suite of products, from mining pools to NFTs. Traders can access over 400 crypto tokens via OTC trading and derivatives. With an excellent web platform, developer tools and dynamic charts, OKX is a popular choice for technical traders.
"VALR will appeal to new and experienced crypto traders in South Africa, looking for ZAR pairs and free deposits. On the negative side, regulatory oversight is weak with fewer crypto tokens than alternatives."
"OKX is a top pick for crypto traders looking for emerging coins and crypto projects to invest in. Traders can also make use of the broker's copy trading service and automated bots."
Pros
Earn hourly staking rewards on certain assets, or save up to 15% on trading fees when you refer a friend
0.01% of a trade's value paid to market makers when you use the Exchange Buy/Sell service
VALR Pay allows clients to send cash or crypto payments to any mobile number or VALR Pay ID, using fast and unique QR codes
The brokers Exchange Buy/Sell platform will appeal to experienced retail traders, with access to interactive TradingView charts
Fast fiat or crypto funding available, with no minimum or maximum limits
There's an impressive range of blockchain products, including DeFi services, NFTs and games, alongside 400+ established and emerging coins
You can access a wide range of trading products, including futures, options and perpetual swaps via a mobile app or desktop platform
OKX maintains an excellent reputation with 20 million global clients and a license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority
Traders can access historical market data for spot and futures combining OHLC data, aggregate trades and trading history
There's a vast developer lab plus access to a marketplace of pre-built trading bots with auto-arbitrage
Active traders can expect competitive maker and taker fees, from 0.02% and 0.05%, respectively
Crypto staking and pools are available with competitive mining fees from 2%
Cons
Ticket-based customer support only
Services restricted in several countries including the US
Fees for more than one crypto withdrawal per calendar month
Not as many crypto assets as other brands
Limited educational content and resources
Unregulated with low trust score
Only ZAR fiat currency available
No demo account
The firm offers limited regulatory oversight, though this is common among crypto brokers
The quality of customer support was inconsistent based on testing
The broker's platform and features may be complex for novices
VALR offers 60+ crypto assets including Bitcoin, Tether and Shiba Inu, though the selection is not as wide as other firms. However, traders can earn 0.01% in rewards as market makers.
OKX continues to offer a superb selection of 400+ tokens including Bitcoin and Ripple. You can buy and sell tokens or trade cryptos on margin via derivatives, including perpetual swaps, options and futures. OKX stands out for its low fees, extensive range of tokens and speedy crypto transactions.
