OKX Singapore User Specific Risk and Safeguarding Disclosures
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) requires OKX Singapore to provide certain disclosures to you as a customer of a digital payment token (“DPT”) service provider. Please read these disclosures before using OKX Singapore’s DPT services and depositing any Asset with OKX Singapore. Terms used but not defined herein shall have the same meanings as assigned to them in the OKX Terms of Service. These disclosures only apply to Users of OKX Singapore only and not Users of other OKX entities.
1. Risk Warning on Digital Payment Tokens Services
The MAS requires us to provide this risk warning to you as a customer of a DPT service provider.
Before you pay your DPT service provider any money or DPT, you should be aware of the following. (i) Your DPT service provider is licensed by MAS to provide DPT services. Please note that this does not mean you will be able to recover all the money or DPTs you paid to your DPT service provider if your DPT service provider’s business fails.
(ii) You should not transact in the DPT if you are not familiar with this DPT. This includes how the DPT is created, and how the DPT you intend to transact is transferred or held by your DPT service provider.
(iii) You should be aware that the value of DPTs may fluctuate greatly. You should buy DPTs only if you are prepared to accept the risk of losing all of the money you put into such tokens.
(iv) You should be aware that your DPT service provider, as part of its license to provide DPT services, may offer services related to DPTs which are promoted as having a stable value, commonly known as “stablecoin."
Please note that the above risk warning also applies to your payment of money or DPT to any third party under any agreement you entered into (a) upon inducement by OKX Singapore for such third party to buy or sell DPTs; or (b) under an arrangement by OKX Singapore for the transmission of your DPTs.
2. Disclosure on Custody Arrangements for Fiat and DPTs
2.1 General Custody/Safeguarding Arrangements
The Fiat Currencies belonging to OKX Singapore Users are directly deposited and held on trust for the benefit of OKX Singapore Users in one or more segregated trust accounts (“Fiat Trust Accounts”) at one or more duly-registered and licensed third-party banking institutions (“Safeguarding Institution”) in accordance to the Safeguarding Institution’ terms of service.
The DPTs belonging to OKX Singapore users are held on trust accounts (“DPT Trust Accounts”) maintained with OKX Singapore or by OKX Singapore on behalf of OKX Singapore users in trust accounts maintained with such persons appointed by OKX Singapore in accordance to safeguarding agreements that gives OKX Singapore strict supervision and control over such Safeguarding Persons (“Third-Party Safeguarding Persons”, and collectively with OKX Singapore, “Safeguarding Persons”). To date, such Third-Party Safeguarding Person include OKBL Pte. Ltd. and OKBL Technology Company Limited, which are affiliates of OKX Singapore.
Where any of such Third-Party Safeguarding Person is located outside Singapore, please note that:
(a) the laws and practices relating to trust accounts in the jurisdiction under which the Third-Party Safeguarding Person is licensed, registered or authorised may be different from the laws and practices in Singapore relating to trust accounts; and
(b) any such differences may affect the your ability to recover your assets deposited in the trust account with such Third-Party Safeguarding Person. For example, there may be a prolonged delay in the recovery process due to the need to obtain foreign regulatory approvals, there may be the need to undergo foreign courts processes before the assets can be returned, or the applicable insolvency laws may have changed during the intervening period
In the event of OKX Singapore’s bankruptcy, current law and practices suggests that your Fiat Currencies and DPTs held in trust accounts will not be subject to claims from OKX Singapore’s creditors. For the avoidance of doubt, OKX Singapore holding your Assets in trust accounts shall not affect the right of set off that The Group may have against your Assets for any sums that you may owe The Group.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, due to operational needs, including for OKX Singapore to facilitate your transactions from time to time, there may be circumstances whereby not all Assets will be held in trust accounts, although we will endeavour to do so as soon as practicable. Assets that are not held in trust accounts may not be afforded the same protection as those held in trust accounts and may be subject to additional risk of losses.
2.2 Commingling of Assets
Fiat Currencies belonging to you will be held together and commingled with the Fiat Currencies belonging to other Users in Fiat Trust Accounts.
DPTs belonging to you will be held together and commingled with the DPTs belonging to other Users in DPT Trust Accounts. Please note that your interest in the DPTs may not be identifiable by separate physical documents or electronic records, although OKX Singapore will maintain records of your interests in the DPTs belonging to you that have been commingled. You may contact customer service for all information relating to the DPTs belonging to you.
Please note that as a result of such commingling, you may not be able to recover the full value of your Fiat Currencies or DPTs in the event of a shortfall in such pooled Fiat Currencies or pooled DPTs respectively.
2.3 Fees for DPT Safeguarding Arrangements
OKX Singapore currently does not charge any fees for maintaining the DPT safeguarding arrangements for OKX Singapore Users. However, OKX Singapore reserves the right to charge fees for such DPT safeguarding arrangements in the future upon giving notice to the Users.
2.4 Disclaimers relating to Safeguarding Arrangements
(a) The Third-Party Safeguarding Persons must hold and record your DPTs in accordance with OKX Singapore’s instructions, and your DPTs must be kept separate from any assets belonging to the Third-Party Safeguarding Persons. A director comprising a part of OKX Singapore's board is authorized to provide instructions to such Third-Party Safeguarding Persons.
(b) The Third-Party Safeguard Persons must provide sufficient information to OKX Singapore on a timely basis as OKX Singapore may reasonably require to comply with its record-keeping obligations under any written law.
(c) The Third-Party Safeguarding Persons must not permit any withdrawal of your DPTs from the trust account, except for delivery of your DPTs to OKX Singapore or to any other person upon receipt of OKX Singapore’s written instructions.
(d) Unless expressly stated otherwise, these arrangements do not create any contractual relationship between you and the Safeguarding Institution and/or Safeguarding Person, and you have no rights to enforce or enjoy the benefit of any contractual term against the Safeguarding Institution and/or Safeguarding Person.
(e) Further, the safeguarding arrangements do not guarantee that OKX Singapore will be able to satisfy all of your claims in relation to Assets belonging to you. The Safeguarding Institution and/or Safeguarding Person will not be liable to compensate you where the Assets held in the trust accounts are insufficient to satisfy all of your claims.
(f) If any Safeguarding Institution or Safeguarding Person becomes insolvent, there is a risk that you may not be able to recover all of the Assets held in trust accounts on your behalf.
(g) If the Safeguarding Institution or Safeguarding Person is in default of any obligation in relation to the safeguarding of your Assets, there is a risk that you may not be able to recover all of the Assets that are held in trust accounts on your behalf.
3. Authorization to Deal with Your Assets
By depositing your Assets with OKX Singapore, you appoint OKX Singapore as your nominee for the purpose of buying, selling and holding your Assets on your behalf. This means OKX Singapore hold the legal title to, and you are the beneficial owner of, the Assets OKX Singapore holds on your behalf. As the beneficial owner, you have the absolute rights to the financial value (subject to the OKX Terms of Service) of the Assets OKX Singapore hold for you. Subject to the OKX Terms of Service, OKX Singapore will generally only deal with your Assets upon receiving instructions from you or your authorized representative, through the OKX Platform or otherwise.
OKX Singapore will not hold your assets as collateral and will not otherwise sell, transfer, loan, hypothecate, or otherwise alienate your assets unless instructed by you or by a court of competent jurisdiction.
4. Beneficial Ownership of DPTs
Your beneficial Ownership of the DPTs only means that you only have the absolute rights to the financial value of the DPTs (subject to OKX’s Terms of Service). Unless specifically set out in writing, your beneficial ownership of the DPTs does not entitle you any further rights that comes with legal ownership of the DPT. Such rights include but are not limited to ownership of any new DPT derived from Hard Fork of the original DPT, and token governance rights.
5. DPT Storage Arrangements
5.1 Balancing Between Hot and Cold Wallets
DPTs belonging to OKX Singapore Users are stored in cold wallets and hot wallets. The hot wallets’ private keys are connected to the internet, and a minority of DPTs is stored in the hot wallets to meet liquidity needs for OKX Singapore to provide its Services to you, such as trading and withdrawal of DPTs by Users. The cold wallets’ private keys are stored offline and the majority of DPTs belonging to OKX Singapore Users are stored in cold wallets. As cold wallets are not connected to the internet or any other form of online or wireless communications, they are generally thought to provide a higher level of security as they may be less susceptible to cyber-attacks.
To ensure that the majority of DPTs belonging to Users are stored in cold wallets, DPTs are moved automatically from the hot wallets to the cold wallets on a daily basis if the DPTs in the cold wallets fall below 90% of the total DPT value belonging to customers. If the DPTs in the hot wallets fall below the threshold required to meet liquidity needs, OKX Singapore will conduct a review to determine the number of DPTs to be transferred into the hot wallets initiate a manual transfer of the required DPTs.
5.2 Security Measures
OKX Singapore implements appropriate security measures to mitigate the risk of loss of customer DPTs due to cyber attacks. This includes storing the majority of customer DPTs in cold wallets and requiring manual authorization by more than one person for any transfer of DPTs out of cold wallets, implementing MAS’s principles of “never alone”, “segregation of duties” and “least privilege” in our internal custody and wallet management policies, implementing a risk monitoring system for any withdrawals out of hot wallets, and conducting internal audits on our custody and custody management systems.
6. Other Disclosures
In the event that you believe that DPTs are lost due to fraud or negligence by any Third-Party Safeguarding Person or OKX Singapore in the course OKX Singapore performing its duty to you as a Safeguarding Person, please contact customer service immediately.
If it is determined from our internal investigation that your loss of DPTs is caused by negligence or fraud of OKX or our employees, we will compensate affected customers for the full value of the lost assets at the time the loss is discovered to the extent of our negligence or fault. In no event shall OKX and/or OKX’s Related Parties be liable to you for any Indirect Losses. Any Losses that are not due to fraud or negligence by OKX Singapore in the course OKX Singapore performing its duty to you as a Safeguarding Person shall follow the exclusions and limitations set out in the OKX Terms of Service.
The Third-Party Safeguarding Person will be fully liable in the event of any loss of your assets maintained in the trust account caused by fraud or negligence on the part of Third-Party Safeguarding Person or any of the Third-Party Safeguarding Person's agents.
Should you wish to have more information relating to the safeguarding of your DPTs, you may reach out to customer support on the OKX Platform.
7. Dealing with Authorised Persons
You agree that OKX Singapore is entitled to deal with any individual who has been duly authorized by you to act on your behalf in connection with all dealings, instructions, and communications between you and OKX Singapore. You shall provide written proof of such authorization, including the full name, contact details, and scope of authority of the authorized person. OKX Singapore may rely on such authorization until it receives written notice from you of any revocation or amendment of the authorization. You acknowledge that OKX Singapore shall not be responsible for verifying the authenticity or validity of any instruction or communication received from an authorized person unless you have provided notice of revocation or amendment of the authorization.
8. Rights arising from DPTs, Forks and Airdrops
You acknowledge that in using the services provided by OKX Singapore, there is a risk that forks and / or airdrops will have a potential adverse effect on the value and operation of DPTs you participate in, and OKX Singapore is not responsible for this.
OKX Singapore will assess at its sole discretion whether it supports a fork or airdrop, and OKX Singapore is under no obligation to support any fork or airdrop.
OKX Singapore will use reasonable endeavors to provide you with notice of forks and airdrops we accept by publishing such notice on our Site.
If there is a fork or airdrop we accept, OKX Singapore may determine in its sole discretion, whether to credit any DPTs and/or received by us to your account, and upon what terms to do so. OKX Singapore will not be liable to you for failure to credit any DPT and/or benefits to you. You further agree that any DPTs and/or benefits in relation to an airdrop or fork do not create or represent any relationship between us and the sender and/or the related DPT network, and that we are not subject to any obligations whatsoever as they relate to the sender and/or the related DPT network.
9. Conflicts of interest
OKX Singapore maintains and operates effective organisational and administrative arrangements with a view to taking all reasonable steps to prevent conflicts of interest.
An example of potential or actual conflicts of interest that may arise in the course of us provide our services to you are conflicts of interests related to ‘vertical integration’ of DPT trading activities. We operate vertically integrated business models by conducting multiple types of DPT trading activities through a single legal entity, or through an affiliated group of entities that is part of a wider group structure.
With multiple types of DPT trading activities conducted with an affiliated group of entities, the primary risk identified is misuse of information. One example of this would be ‘front-running’, where an affiliated entity acts on advance knowledge of orders or transactions from another group entity.
In relation to the foregoing conflicts of interests, controls are in place which align to those implemented by banks and other financial institutions. These include (but are not limited to): self-trade prevention, physical segregation of trading desks, role-based restrictions related to information flows, along with trade monitoring and surveillance.
However, where these are not sufficient to ensure, with reasonable confidence, that risks of damage to your interests will be prevented, OKX Singapore shall, as a measure of last resort, disclose to you the relevant conflicts and the steps taken to mitigate against them.
10. OKX’s own token
You acknowledge that OKX issues its own tokens from time to time (the “OKX Tokens”).
Potential Conflicts of Interests arising from the issuance of OKX Tokens
As a result of OKX issuing its own tokens, you acknowledge that the following conflicts of interest might arise:
(a) Issuance of OKX Tokens
As both the issuer of the OKX Tokens and the operator of the OKX exchange platform, OKX Singapore has a financial interest in the success of the OKX Tokens. This may create situations where OKX Singapore’s interests as a coin issuer could conflict with OKX Singapore’s role as a neutral marketplace operator.
(b) Preferential Treatment
There may be instances where OKX Singapore promotes, lists, or offers incentives related to the OKX Tokens. While OKX Singapore strives to treat all DPTs equally, you acknowledge that the OKX Tokens may receive preferential treatment in certain marketing or fee structures. This could include lower listing or trading fees for the OKX Tokens compared to other DPTs listed on our platform.
(c) Market Influence
OKX Singapore has control over the market listing and trading of the OKX Tokens and may participate in activities such as market making or promotional trading incentives to support liquidity. While these activities are intended to ensure a smooth trading experience, they may create the appearance of market bias or affect the price and liquidity of the Coin.
(d) Insider Information
As the issuer of the OKX Tokens, OKX Singapore may possess material non-public information about future developments that could affect the price or demand for the Coin. OKX Singapore is committed to avoiding the misuse of any such information, and OKX Singapore adheres to strict internal controls to prevent insider trading and other market abuses.
Steps and Measures to Prevent or Mitigate Identified Conflicts of Interests
OKX Singapore endeavors to prevent or mitigate the foregoing conflicts of interests in the following ways:
(a) Transparency in Operations
OKX Singapore will maintain and publish auditable records of transactions relating to OKX Tokens, including issuance, buyback and employee trading. All incentives tied to the OKX tokens, such as fee discounts, staking rewards, or exclusive access to services will be fully disclosed.
(b) Independent Audits
OKX Singapore will conduct regular third-party security audits of the OKX Token’s smart contract to identify and fix vulnerabilities and engage independent auditors to review OKX Singapore’s handling of the OKX Tokens and other operations to detect and address conflicts.
(c) Internal Trading Policies
OKX Singapore prohibits employees from OKX Token’s during sensitive periods, such as just before token listings or partnership announcements. Sensitive information about upcoming OKX Token listings, supply changes or strategic decisions will be limited to essential personnel only. OKX Singapore may also impose lock-up periods for board members and employees involved in OKX Singapore’s business of operating a market, acting as a broker or agent, or conducting OTC business from OKX Singapore’s own account.
(d) Separate surveillance function
OKX Singapore’s employees involved in the surveillance function will be separate from employees whose duties and responsibilities pertain to OKX Singapore’s business of operating a market, acting as a broker or agent, or conducting OTC business from OKX Singapore’s own account.
Proprietary Holdings at the Point of Listing of OKX Tokens
You acknowledge that at the time of listing new OKX Tokens, OKX Singapore may hold proprietary holdings of such new OKX Tokens.
OKX Singapore’s proprietary holdings of such new OKX Tokens are intended to support the ecosystem of such new OKX Tokens, align incentives with the new OKX Tokens’ long-term success, and facilitate operations on OKX where applicable.
You should consider the OKX Singapore’s proprietary holdings and the potential for conflicts of interest when evaluating your participation in transactions involving the new OKX Tokens.
11. Digital Assets Listing and Governance Policy
The teams involved in the OKX token listing process maintain strict independence, ensuring risks are managed and assessed properly. OKX Singapore maintains strict segregation between its business, research, and compliance teams to ensure independence in their respective roles. All token reviewers involved in the process of token listings are required to declare any personal conflicts of interest involved in their review, such as having personal investments in the tokens under their review. Should any conflicts of interests be identified, the review of a token will be reassigned to another qualified analyst to ensure an impartial review of the token. In the event the token cannot be reassigned, the reviewer will disclose their conflict of interests to an independent compliance team to be reviewed if the reviewer may be permitted to continue his or her existing review.
While affiliates of OKX Singapore may invest in certain projects or hold tokens in certain projects, these affiliates have no influence or role in the decision-making process for listing of those projects’ tokens on OKX Singapore.