OKX launches Shield in the US with up to $500,000 in account protection

OKX has brought its OKX Shield program to the US. The program offers up to $500,000 in protection for users whose accounts are compromised. The US launch came on October 20, 2026. It follows a debut in the European Economic Area on September 22, 2026, so American users waited about a month for their turn. How OKX Shield works OKX Shield is a tiered reimbursement plan aimed at unauthorized account takeovers. Covered incidents include phishing, malware attacks, and SIM swaps, all of which are becoming more common in crypto. A SIM swap, for the uninitiated, is when a criminal convinces your mobile carrier to move your phone number to their device. Once they control your number, they can intercept the text-message codes that guard your accounts. Coverage depends on who you are to the exchange. Users in the VIP 4 to VIP 6 tiers can receive up to $500,000. VIP 1 to VIP 3 users may receive up to $250,000. Regular users may receive up to $100,000. The reimbursement is discretionary. That means OKX decides whether to pay a claim, rather than being contractually locked into it. The program also pairs that potential payout with mandatory security measures, including enabling Passkey features ...