Corporate Actions Handling Mechanism

Equity Corporate Actions: Overview and FAQ

When an underlying stock undergoes a dividend distribution, stock split, reverse split or another corporate action, OKX adjusts the affected products. This guide explains the overall process, followed by answers to questions about dividend calculations, position changes, order handling and account records.

1. Overview

Scope and treatment

A corporate action (CA) is a change to a company's shares or distribution arrangements. Common examples include cash dividends, stock dividends, stock splits and reverse splits. These events may change the underlying stock's price per share, share count or distribution entitlements.

OKX adjusts affected Unified Tokenized Stock spot holdings and equity perpetual contracts according to the event terms. Spot holdings are measured in share units, with dividends and ratio adjustments reflected in the number of units held. Perpetual contracts reflect the event through cash adjustments or changes to position quantity and price; they do not deliver the underlying shares. A Pre-IPO contract rebase is also treated as a special stock split, using the adjustment ratio specified in the announcement. Each event announcement identifies the affected assets, trading pairs and contracts.

The threshold between small and large cash or stock dividends is 3%. The calculation is explained in the FAQ below. API users can check the classification through the corporate action endpoint's dividendSize field: "dividendSize": "LARGE" indicates a large dividend. Further updates to small-dividend treatment will be announced separately, including their effective dates. Complex events such as mergers, spin-offs and rights issues will be covered by event-specific announcements.

From notification to trading resumption

Large dividends, stock splits and reverse splits that require a trading pause—including Pre-IPO contract rebases treated as special stock splits—generally follow four stages:

1. Advance notice. OKX will make reasonable efforts to provide advance notice approximately five calendar days before processing, followed by a reminder approximately 30 minutes before it begins. Notices identify the affected products, event terms and expected processing time. Urgent events may have shorter notice periods, and changes to the arrangements will be communicated.
2. Preparation. At PREPARING, OKX tightens the price limits for affected instruments. Institutional users are advised to start canceling orders they do not want included in the adjustment. At the subsequent PRE_PAUSE stage, the Index Price is fixed in preparation for formal processing.
3. Pause and adjustment. Once formal CA processing begins, liquidation and order operations for the affected instruments are paused. Order placement, amendment, cancellation and matching are suspended for affected spot pairs and perpetual contracts. The system adjusts assets, positions, prices and orders using the applicable snapshots and event terms, then reconciles the results. Deposits, withdrawals and transfers of affected assets may also pause.
4. Staged resumption. After adjustments and checks are complete, affected products enter a Post-only phase lasting at least 10 minutes to establish the adjusted order book. The CA status remains PROGRESSING during this phase. Only after Post-only ends and the instrument's state returns to live does the CA enter COMPLETED, with a completion notice issued. The Post-only phase may last longer than 10 minutes; use the actual instrument status and latest notice to determine when trading has resumed.

The trading pause depends on actual processing progress. Asset transfers, normal trading, index components and price limits may resume at different times. Small dividends do not enter this full trading-pause process.

Main effects on positions and orders

Perpetual cash adjustments for large cash dividends are recorded separately from ordinary funding. For stock splits, reverse splits and large stock dividends, the old perpetual position is settled at the pre-adjustment Mark Price, converting unrealized P&L into realized P&L. A new position is then opened at the adjusted Mark Price. These system-generated position closures and openings do not incur trading fees.

Eligible resting limit orders have their prices or quantities adjusted under the event rules. An entirely unfilled order keeps its order ID. For a partially filled order, only the unfilled remainder is adjusted and reposted, with a new order ID. Orders that cannot be retained or reposted are canceled. Untriggered take-profit and stop-loss orders are canceled during the full CA process and are not automatically restored.

Complete any intended position changes or cancellations before the pause. Institutional users can track event progress through the new GET /api/v5/public/corporate-actions endpoint and are advised to start canceling orders when status reaches PREPARING. Use instrument queries or WebSocket state updates to monitor the trading pause and resumption. See “API queries and status monitoring” below. After trading resumes, check positions, account records and resting orders, and recreate take-profit and stop-loss instructions using the adjusted prices and quantities.

2. Frequently asked questions

Classification and trading arrangements

How are small and large dividends classified?

The current threshold is 3%: a dividend ratio of 3% or less is small; a ratio above 3% is large. This classification does not depend on your position size.

You can also check the event's classification through the dividendSize field returned by GET /api/v5/public/corporate-actions. For example, "dividendSize": "LARGE" indicates a large dividend. API integrations should read this field rather than infer the classification solely from the dividend amount or the size of their holdings.

• Cash dividend: Divide the per-share dividend by the underlying stock's official closing price on the most recent valid trading day. Classification preferentially uses the gross amount. If gross data is unavailable, an approved alternative basis is used. The dividend and price must be expressed in the same currency.
• Stock dividend: Use the number of new shares distributed per existing share. For example, a distribution of 0.1 new shares per existing share is a 10% dividend.

If the stock closes at USD 100, a USD 3 per-share cash dividend is small, while a USD 4 dividend is large. Special distributions for products such as ETFs follow their applicable product rules and event announcements.

What can I do during the Post-only phase?

You can submit Post-only limit orders and amend or cancel existing Post-only orders. Market, IOC, FOK and regular limit orders are rejected. New take-profit and stop-loss orders are also unavailable during this phase. See the Get instruments state definitions.

The Post-only phase lasts at least 10 minutes. This is a minimum duration; the actual end time also depends on whether order-book and market conditions meet the reopening requirements. The CA status remains PROGRESSING throughout this phase and changes to COMPLETED only after Post-only ends and the instrument returns to live. Entering Post-only does not mean normal order matching has resumed.

Spot dividends and holdings

Will my spot dividend be paid directly in cash?

No. Unified Tokenized Stock dividends are reinvested by the issuer and reflected as additional share units in your holdings. The increase depends on your eligible holdings and the issuer's multiplier before and after the dividend.

Additional units = Eligible share units × (Post-dividend multiplier ÷ Pre-dividend multiplier − 1)

For example, if you have 100 eligible units and the multiplier increases from 1.02 to 1.0251:

Additional units = 100 × (1.0251 ÷ 1.02 − 1) = 0.5 units.

Your holdings become 100.5 units, subject to the applicable precision rules. For more information, see the Unified Tokenized Stocks FAQ.

What is the multiplier, and why is my platform balance different from my token quantity?

The multiplier represents the number of share units of stock price exposure represented by each issuer token. Your platform balance is already expressed in converted share units.

Platform share units = Issuer token quantity × Multiplier

At a multiplier of 1.02, for example, 10 issuer tokens represent 10.2 platform share units. A dividend may increase the multiplier, so your corresponding platform units can increase even if the token quantity does not change.

On deposit, the system converts tokens into share units. On withdrawal, it converts share units back into tokens using the effective multiplier and deducts any applicable fees.

Are spot dividends based on gross or net amounts?

The increase in spot share units reflects the net amount actually reinvested by the issuer. If the issuer deducts applicable withholding tax, it is already reflected in the updated multiplier. You do not deduct the tax again when calculating the additional units.

Perpetual cash adjustments use the gross per-share dividend, so spot distributions and perpetual cash adjustments use different amount bases. Tax treatment depends on the issuer and the rules applicable to the specific distribution.

When must I hold the asset to qualify, and when will the dividend be credited?

Eligible share units are determined using the event's applicable eligibility snapshot and holding-calculation rules. Check the announced cutoff and its time zone. Unfilled orders do not count as holdings.

Dividends are credited after the issuer updates its multiplier and platform processing is complete. The underlying stock's ex-dividend date, the issuer's payment date and the actual platform credit time may differ. Check your account records and event notices for the credit status.

What happens to a deposit received during a dividend-related pause?

The deposit waits to be credited. Once processing is complete, it is converted into platform share units using the effective conversion ratio. A deposit that has not yet been credited should not be treated as included in an earlier dividend snapshot.

How do splits, reverse splits and stock dividends change my spot holdings?

The system adjusts share units using the event ratio and issuer's terms. For example:

• A 4-for-1 split changes 10 units into 40 units.
• A 1-for-10 reverse split changes 100 units into 10 units.
• A stock dividend of 0.1 shares per existing share theoretically changes 100 units into 110 units.

The price per unit also adjusts, so an increase in units does not represent an equivalent additional investment return. Actual results are subject to applicable precision rules and event terms.

Perpetual dividends and positions

How are long and short positions treated for a large cash dividend?

Long positions receive a cash adjustment, and short positions pay it. The relevant Index and Mark Price references are also reduced by the corresponding per-share dividend. Contract quantity and the original entry price remain unchanged.

Cash adjustment amount = Number of contracts × Shares per contract × Gross dividend per share

The dividend is converted into the settlement currency under the applicable rules. For example, with 100 contracts, one share per contract and a gross per-share dividend equivalent to 5 USDT, a long receives 500 USDT and a short pays 500 USDT.

With other factors unchanged, a 5 USDT reduction in Mark Price reduces this long position's unrealized P&L by 500 USDT, offset by the cash adjustment. The short position has the opposite changes. Actual account results also depend on market prices, basis and other cash flows.

Is the cash adjustment a funding payment? When is it paid or charged?

No. It is a separate corporate action cash adjustment, recorded independently of ordinary funding. Cash-dividend adjustments flow from shorts to longs; ordinary funding direction depends on the funding rate.

A large cash-dividend adjustment is processed during the CA pause, with the corresponding checks completed before trading resumes. It does not have to wait for the next ordinary funding settlement. Use the CA account record to check the actual payment time.

Does a CA change the funding frequency? Is funding still settled during a pause?

The CA itself does not change the normal funding frequency. Funding amounts due but deferred during the pause are settled after processing ends.

If CA processing overlaps with an ordinary funding settlement, the applicable funding settlement is completed first, followed by CA processing.

Do small dividends result in cash payments or additional perpetual contracts?

Not at present. Small cash or stock dividends do not trigger a dedicated cash or ratio adjustment for perpetual contracts. Entry prices, contract quantities and resting orders are not adjusted in bulk. Trading continues normally, although market prices may still reflect the underlying stock's ex-dividend or ex-distribution price change.

Small-dividend treatment will be updated further. The arrangements, effective dates and scope will be announced separately.

How do splits, reverse splits and large stock dividends adjust perpetual positions?

Position quantity and price adjust in opposite directions. In a 4-for-1 split, for example, the contract quantity becomes four times its original size and the adjusted price becomes one quarter of the original. In a 1-for-10 reverse split, quantity becomes one tenth and price becomes ten times the original.

The system first settles the old position at the pre-adjustment Mark Price, converting unrealized P&L into realized P&L. It then opens a new position at the adjusted Mark Price. Large stock dividends use the same proportional approach: a dividend of 0.1 shares per existing share multiplies quantity by 1.1 and divides price by 1.1.

Ordinary stock corporate actions do not themselves change contract size, price tick size or quantity step size. Adjusted quantities and prices use the existing precision rules. Parameters for a Pre-IPO contract rebase are specified in its announcement.

Is a Pre-IPO contract rebase treated as a stock split?

Yes. A Pre-IPO contract rebase is treated as a special stock split, adjusting contract quantity and price using the ratio specified in the event announcement. Check your positions and orders against the announced execution time, ratio and trading parameters.

Why did my entry price change and my unrealized P&L reset to zero?

The old position's P&L has been settled, and the new position has been opened at the adjusted Mark Price. Your previous P&L has moved into realized P&L; it has not disappeared.

For example, assume you hold a long position of 100 contracts, each representing one share, with an entry price of 80 USDT and a Mark Price of 100 USDT. A 4-for-1 split occurs:

The new entry price is 100 ÷ 4 = 25 USDT, not the original entry price divided by four, which would be 20 USDT.

If Mark Price subsequently rises to 30 USDT, the new position has 2,000 USDT in unrealized P&L. Together with the previously realized 2,000 USDT, total P&L is 4,000 USDT. This example excludes other market movements, fees and rounding.

What happens if the adjusted position includes a quantity below the minimum increment?

The system rounds the absolute quantity of a long or short position down to the contract's existing quantity step size. Related differences are handled through CA settlement and any necessary balance adjustments.

For example, 1,005 contracts become a theoretical 100.5 contracts after a 1-for-10 reverse split. If the quantity step is one contract, the new position is 100 contracts, with the remainder handled under the applicable settlement rules. Relevant cash settlement for USDT-settled perpetuals is recorded in USDT.

Reconcile the result using realized P&L from the old position, rounding records and balance changes. A reduction in contract notional exposure should not be treated directly as additional cash credited to your account.

Are there trading fees for closing and reopening positions during a CA?

No. System-generated closures and openings caused by a CA do not incur trading fees. Ordinary funding and fees for trades you initiate continue to follow their respective rules.

What if a short position has insufficient funds to pay the cash adjustment?

The adjustment may reduce your balance or available margin. Insufficient funds are handled under your account mode and risk rules, and may result in a negative balance or liability.

Relevant liquidation processing pauses during the full CA protection window. After it resumes, risk is assessed using the adjusted prices, positions and balances. Position reductions or liquidation may still occur if your account does not meet margin requirements. Check your margin before processing begins.

Resting orders and take-profit/stop-loss orders

Will my unfilled limit orders be canceled?

Eligible regular limit and Post-only orders are adjusted to the new prices and quantities. An entirely unfilled order keeps its original order ID. For a partially filled order, the unfilled remainder is adjusted and reposted with a new order ID. Orders that cannot be retained or reposted because of precision or other trading checks are canceled.

• Large cash dividend: Both buy and sell prices are reduced by the per-share dividend expressed on the same currency basis. Unfilled quantity remains unchanged. For example, a 5 USDT per-share dividend changes an order price of 110 USDT to 105 USDT.
• Stock split, reverse split or large stock dividend: Price and quantity are adjusted proportionally. In a 4-for-1 split, the order price is divided by four and the unfilled quantity is multiplied by four.

Buy prices are rounded down and sell prices up to the price tick size. Absolute quantities are rounded down to the quantity step size. Check order prices, quantities and final statuses after trading resumes.

What happens to an adjusted order quantity that exceeds the allowed precision?

The adjusted unfilled quantity is rounded down to the allowed quantity step, not rounded to the nearest increment. A quantity must satisfy the precision rules even if it already meets the minimum order size.

For example, assume the original order quantity is 0.01, a 1.5-for-1 split occurs, and both the product's minimum order size and quantity step are 0.01:

• The theoretical adjusted quantity is 0.01 × 1.5 = 0.015.
• Rounded down to the 0.01 quantity step, the adjusted order quantity is 0.01.
• The excess 0.005 is not reposted, and the quantity is not rounded up to 0.02.

If the resulting quantity is zero or still below the minimum order size, the order is canceled and is not reposted. This is a rule for unfilled order quantities, not cash settlement of a position.

Do entirely unfilled and partially filled orders keep their order IDs?

They are handled differently:

Completed fills retain their original trade records. Positions created by those fills are adjusted under the applicable position rules.

For example, assume a buy order for 20 contracts at 96 USDT has already filled five contracts. After a 4-for-1 split, the remaining 15 contracts theoretically become 60 contracts at 24 USDT.

API users should query resting orders again after trading resumes. For an entirely unfilled order, update the price, quantity and status under its existing order ID. For a partially filled order, check the old order's final status and the new order ID, price and quantity of the reposted remainder.

Will my take-profit and stop-loss orders be adjusted automatically?

No. During the full CA process for large dividends, stock splits and reverse splits, untriggered take-profit and stop-loss (TP/SL) orders are canceled and are not automatically restored. Recreate them after trading resumes using the new prices and position quantities.

Running strategies or bots may also pause. After resumption, check their status and protective orders to confirm the settings meet your intended strategy.

Can I cancel all my resting orders before the CA?

Yes. You can cancel the relevant orders using the existing order-management functions before trading pauses. Institutional users are advised to start canceling orders when the CA event's status reaches PREPARING, and to confirm that cancellations have completed. Once the instrument enters rebase, cancellations are also suspended.

If your system does not support exchange-driven changes to order price or quantity, manage those orders in advance. Retained limit orders are adjusted under the rules described above.

Prices, records and other events

How do Index Price and Mark Price change?

For a large cash dividend, the system subtracts the corresponding gross per-share dividend from the pre-adjustment Index and Mark Price snapshots respectively. For a stock split, reverse split or large stock dividend, it scales each snapshot by the event ratio. Currency conversion is applied first where required.

For example, in a 4-for-1 split, an old Index Price of 100 and an old Mark Price of 102 produce a new index reference of 25 and an adjustment-time Mark Price reference of 25.5.

During Post-only and subsequent normal trading, Mark Price returns to its normal calculation using the adjusted index and newly accumulated basis, subject to the existing price-protection rules. Mark Price therefore does not remain fixed at its adjustment-time value and need not equal Index Price.

Does trading resumption mean the index and price limits have fully returned to normal?

Not necessarily. Resuming trading, restoring normal index-component calculations and restoring ordinary price limits are separate steps.

An affected product may resume trading while the index still uses a temporary CA reference price. Normal index calculations and price limits are restored when external quotes reflect the adjusted share-price basis and the relevant order-book and market conditions are met.

How can I reconcile the adjustment? Will historical fills or candlesticks change?

Use asset, position and account records to check spot share units, perpetual cash adjustments, realized P&L from the old position, the new position's quantity and entry price, and rounding differences. Reconcile CA cash adjustments separately from ordinary funding.

Completed historical fills are not rewritten because of a CA. You can choose adjusted or unadjusted candlesticks. Adjusted charts support comparisons across time; they do not change your actual fills or account records.

When reconciling through APIs, synchronize orders, positions, balances and account records, and check the actual status of each trading pair or contract. See “API queries and status monitoring” below for event and instrument status queries. Account-record and historical-data fields follow their respective API documentation.

Are mergers, spin-offs, rights issues and ETF distributions handled in the same way?

These events require treatment based on their specific terms. OKX will announce the affected products, valuation or distribution method, position and order treatment, and expected processing time for each event.

A merger is different from a reverse split. Stock dividends that distribute another security or offer an election also cannot simply use an ordinary split formula. ETF distributions follow the applicable product rules. Underlying trading halts and product delistings follow their respective trading-suspension or settlement announcements. A name or display-code change alone does not change the economic quantity of your holdings.

What should I do after a CA is complete?

Check that:

• Spot share units, perpetual position quantities and entry prices have been adjusted.
• CA cash flows, realized P&L and rounding records match the event terms.
• Limit-order prices, quantities and statuses match your expectations.
• Canceled take-profit and stop-loss orders have been recreated, and relevant strategies have resumed as intended.

If the records do not match the announcement, contact support or your account manager with the affected product, relevant order or account-record IDs, and timestamps so the result can be reconciled.

API queries and status monitoring

Can I query corporate actions through an API?

Yes. The new public endpoint GET /api/v5/public/corporate-actions provides corporate action event queries. Institutional users can use its status field to track event progress, arrange cancellations and reconcile the results.

Monitor event progress separately from instrument trading status:

Use dividendSize to check the dividend classification, event status to plan when to act, and instrument state to determine which operations are currently allowed. For the full CA process that requires a trading pause, the statuses map as shown below. PROGRESSING covers both rebase and the subsequent post_only phase.

How does CA status map to instrument state?

The following mapping applies to the full CA process that requires a trading pause:

The event enters COMPLETED only after Post-only ends. A state=live update alone does not confirm CA completion: instruments are also live during SCHEDULED, PREPARING and PRE_PAUSE. Check the event's status as well.

Apart from the minimum 10-minute Post-only phase, no fixed stage durations are specified here. Small dividends do not follow this full trading-pause process and should not be assumed to follow the rebase → post_only sequence. suspend indicates that instrument trading is suspended; it is not a fixed stage in the mapping above. Refer to the actual instrument status and relevant announcements.

How can I tell whether a contract is in rebase or post_only?

Query Get instruments and read state for the relevant instId. For example, to query perpetual instruments:

GET /api/v5/public/instruments?instType=SWAP

The main states to monitor during a CA are:

These are the main CA-related states, not the full list of API values. The post_only phase lasts at least 10 minutes. Even after 10 minutes have passed, wait for the actual state to return to live before using normal trading operations.

You can also subscribe to the public WebSocket Instruments channel, which sends updates when an instrument's status or relevant trading parameters change. For example, to subscribe to spot and perpetual instruments:

{
  "op": "subscribe",
  "args": [
    {"channel": "instruments", "instType": "SPOT"},
    {"channel": "instruments", "instType": "SWAP"}
  ]
}

Match incoming updates by instId and update the corresponding instrument's state. For other contract types, subscribe using their actual instType. On connection or reconnection, use REST to retrieve the current state, then maintain your local records with WebSocket updates.

When should institutional users cancel orders?

Start canceling when the CA event enters PREPARING; there is no need to wait for PRE_PAUSE, and you should not wait until the instrument enters rebase. Price limits tighten at PREPARING, providing a point to manage resting orders in advance. If your strategy cannot handle exchange-driven changes to order prices, quantities or IDs, you can cancel earlier.

The recommended sequence is:

1. Monitor event status through the CA endpoint, while querying or subscribing to the affected instruments' state.
2. From PREPARING, stop the strategy from creating further relevant resting orders. Cancel orders you do not want included in the adjustment while the instrument still permits cancellation.
3. Check final order statuses to confirm cancellation. Sending a cancellation request does not mean the order has been successfully canceled.
4. Once the instrument enters rebase, wait for status updates. At post_only, use only the order types and operations permitted in that state.
5. Before resuming normal trading, synchronize positions, resting orders, balances and account records. Entirely unfilled orders retain their IDs, so update their adjusted prices and quantities. Reposted remainders of partially filled orders have new IDs and must be reconciled accordingly. Recreate canceled take-profit and stop-loss orders.

PREPARING is the recommended stage to start cancellations. PRE_PAUSE means Index Price has been fixed. Whether an instruction can actually be executed still depends on the instrument's current trading status and rules.