OKX Picks Malta Over France as Europe Hub to Comply With EU’s MiCA Crypto Rules: Sources

OKX,
the
world’s
second-largest
cryptocurrency
exchange,
plans
to
make
the
Mediterranean
island
of
Malta
its
European
hub
and
base
for
compliance
with
the
newly
arrived
Markets
in
Crypto
assets
(MiCA)
regulatory
framework,
according
to
two
people
familiar
with
the
matter.

It’s
a
change
of
tack
for
OKX,
which

said
in
May
of
last
year
that
France
would
be
its
preferred
European
Union
hub.
OKX’s
France
arm
has
been
registered
with
France’s
financial
regulator
Autorité
des
marchés
financiers
(AMF)
since

December.

“Compliance
in
Malta
is
way
more
lenient,
and
that’s
not
the
tag
you
want
to
have
when
you’re
in
crypto
and
trying
to
make
it
in
the
EU,”
said
a
person
with
direct
knowledge
of
OKX’s
European
regulatory
efforts.

OKX
declined
to
comment
on
the
Malta
decision.

Companies
have
been
looking
to
get
registered
with
one
of
the
European
Union’s
27
nations
to
get
ready
for
upcoming
MiCA
rules,

which
require
firms
to
secure
a
crypto
asset
service
provider,
or
CASP,
license
with
an
EU
nation
to
operate
across
the
entire
bloc.

First,
firms
need
to
have
a
physical
presence
in
that
nation,
carry
out
some
business
in
the
country
and
already
be
registered
to
get
the
CASP
license.

MiCA’s
stablecoin
rules
are
already
in
place
but
the
rest
of
the
rules
will
come
through
in
December.

Malta,
which
is
home
to
many
gaming
companies
and
some
investment
firms,
has
embraced
crypto
in
recent
years.
In
late
2023,
Malta’s
Financial
Services
Authority
(MFSA)

updated
its
rules
for
crypto
companies
to
fall
in
line
with
the
oncoming

MiCA
regime.

The
exchange
is
looking
to
fill
several
high-profile
roles
in
Malta,
including

head
of
compliance,

operations
lead
and

head
of
internal
audit.

Earlier
this
year,

OKX
agreed
to
a
“goodwill”
settlement
of
304,000
euros
($329,000)
with
the
Maltese
financial
watchdog
for
certain
regulatory
failings.

Camomile
Shumba
contributed
reporting
to
this
story.