Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has received pre-authorization to Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, the exchange announced to Cointelegraph on Jan. 23.
Granted by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) on Jan. 22, the pre-authorization means that the firm has completed the regulator’s review process and is eligible to be approved for the full MiCA license, OKX Europe’s general manager, Erald Ghoos, told Cointelegraph.
“It signals the very end of our MiCA application process,” Ghoos said.
Following pre-authorization, OKX intends to obtain a full MiCA license through its dedicated hub in Malta, planning to offer a wide range of services and token pairs.
OKX says it will list more than 240 tokens in compliance with MiCA
Once OKX receives a full MiCA license, the exchange expects to offer localized crypto services to more than 400 million users in Europe and support more than 240 tokens.
In addition to spot trading, OKX also plans to provide over-the-counter trading and bot trading, supporting at least 260 trading pairs against the euro (EUR).
While disclosing its ambitious plans in Europe, OKX did not clarify what cryptocurrencies are likely to be listed on the exchange following full MiCA approval.
The exchange declined to tell Cointelegraph whether it plans to delist Tether USDt (USDT) in compliance with MiCA amid growing USDT uncertainty.
OKX selected Malta as the MiCA hub in 2024
OKX’s MiCA pre-authorization comes months after the exchange selected the jurisdiction as its European hub to comply with the EU’s new crypto regulations.
In July 2024, OKX Europe’s Ghoos said the exchange had a fully operating team in Malta and was actively preparing for MiCA’s implementation, which took full force on Dec. 30, 2024.
At the time, OKX also said it expected to offer crypto staking to EU residents under MiCA, while the OKX Europe director expected that the uplift to new EU crypto standards would be “minimal.”
The growing number of exchanges planning MiCA licenses
Other exchanges like Gemini also announced plans to receive a MiCA license in Malta previously, expressing commitment to offer its services in Europe through a local hub.
Crypto.com, another major global crypto exchange, announced plans to receive a MiCA license on Jan. 17. Unlike Gemini and OKX, Crypto.com did not specify what jurisdiction it selected for securing the license.
Since the EU's MiCA entered full effect a few weeks ago, only a few crypto asset service providers (CASP) have obtained the MiCA license.
Crypto platform MoonPay was among the first CASPs to receive one from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) on Dec. 30, alongside other firms, including BitStaete, Zebedee Europe and Zebedee Europe.
MoonPay, BitStaete, Zebedee Europe and Hidden Road received MiCA licenses on Dec. 30, 2024. Source: AFM
German stock exchange Boerse Stuttgart, a leading exchange group in Europe, became the first CASP in Germany to receive a full MiCA license on Jan. 17.
