OKX ETH Staking is a custodial Ethereum staking product in which subscribed ETH is delegated to validators operated by OKX and represented 1:1 by BETH, an in-platform receipt token that accrues rewards daily. Yield comes from Ethereum proof-of-stake consensus rewards plus MEV, net of a 5% service fee inclusive of gas. OKX publishes monthly zk-STARK proof-of-reserves reports whose Native ETH Staking validator keys are verifiable on-chain.
CCC+
High RiskPotential BBB-
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CurrentPotential
This rating is based solely on publicly available information. Custodial platform risk assessed across Security, Strategy and Operations on the AAA–D scale. The range from CCC+ to BBB- reflects the gap between the current assessment and the potential rating achievable if all identified improvement areas are addressed.
OTROperator Track Record62
TVTransparency & Verifiability70
RLSRegulatory & Legal Standing63
YSYield & Strategy71
LTLiquidity & Terms48
Market Details
Fee5% service fee (includes gas)
CustodianSelf-custody (OKX)
InsuranceNo
Founded Since2017
Strategy TypeStaking
Proof Of ReservesYes (monthly zk-STARK liability proof, Hacken-verified)
Supported AssetsETH (staked position represented by BETH)
Regulatory LicensesMalta MFSA CASP (MiCA, custody + trading platform); Singapore MAS MPI; Dubai VARA VASP; US FinCEN MSB; Bahamas DARE
Stated Withdrawal TimeFlexible
Component Ratings
SecurityCCC+70
StrategyCCC62
OperationsCCC62
Key Strengths
S1Proof of reserves that proves liabilities, not just assets — a monthly zk-STARK proof enforcing total-balance, non-negative and inclusion constraints, with open-source verification tooling and a limitations statement on the same page (Proof of Reserves · zk-STARK validator)
S2Fund locations verifiable on-chain including the staked ETH — the reserve file's Native ETH Staking line carries validator public keys and OKX-controlled recipient addresses checkable on beaconcha.in, across 46 consecutive monthly reports with ETH at 101% in August 2026 (Address verification guide)
S3The advertised headline rate is the base rate for every depositor — no VIP tier, balance cap, lock-up, promotional window or native-token holding requirement, with the 0.001 ETH minimum disclosed where the rate is shown (Product page)
S4Complete fee and yield-mechanics disclosure — a single 5% service fee inclusive of gas, stated explicitly to be already reflected in the displayed APR, with the full reward formula and distribution schedule published (ETH Staking FAQ)
S5Yield conservative against its own source — an estimated 2.10% net advertised against a 2.46-2.61% gross network APR, from a named strategy (Ethereum PoS plus MEV) with a 5.7-year live record and no leverage, own-token backing or synthetic-dollar dependency
Key Risks
R1A corporate criminal plea and live compliance supervision — the operating entity pleaded guilty in February 2025 to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, paying roughly $505m and accepting an external compliance consultant through February 2027, alongside a Malta FIAU AML penalty and a Thai SEC criminal complaint (DOJ)
R2Unconstrained withdrawal discretion on top of an actual 42-day historical freeze — the terms permit account suspension at sole discretion and immediate asset freezing without notice, and all withdrawals were suspended from 16 October to 26 November 2020 when one private-key holder was unreachable (2020 suspension)
R3Self-custody with no named third-party custodian and no bank or trust charter, though the self-custody architecture is documented (Security architecture)
R4Multi-signature asserted but the threshold, signer independence and verification method are undisclosed, and all signers sit inside one entity
R5Segregation claimed and MiCA-mandated, but the EEA terms expressly permit client-asset pooling with a shortfall warning and do not state whether staking sits inside the safeguarding perimeter (EEA ToS)
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