OKX Secures Payments License in Malta

- The new Payment Institution (PI) license was granted by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) and is distinct from the MiCA license OKX secured from the same regulator in January 2025. This PI license specifically aligns OKX's payment services with the EU's Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2). - This license is crucial for services like the OKX Card and OKX Pay, which allow users to spend stablecoins such as USDC and USDG for everyday transactions. Under the upcoming MiCA regulation, any company processing stablecoin transactions, now defined as electronic money tokens, must hold a PI license. - Malta has been a proactive jurisdiction for crypto regulation, establishing its Virtual Financial Assets (VFA) Act in 2018 and positioning itself as "Blockchain Island" to attract digital asset firms. - With this latest authorization, OKX holds three significant licenses in Europe issued from Malta: the MiCA license, a MiFID II derivatives license, and the new payment license, covering all 28 EU/EEA countries through passporting. - The EU's comprehensive Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation is being implemented in phases, with rules for stablecoins having started on June 30, 2024, and the full framework for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) taking effect on December 30, 2024. - Some EU member states, including Malta, have adopted an 18-month "grandfathering" period, allowing existing CASPs to operate under national regimes until July 1, 2026, before needing full MiCA authorization. - Despite its regulatory successes, OKX was fined €1.1 million in 2025 by Malta's Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) for anti-money laundering failures that occurred in 2023. - Other major exchanges like Gemini, Crypto.com, and Gate.io also have a presence in Malta, operating as supervised Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs) under the MFSA.