Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has significantly expanded its regulatory standing in Europe by obtaining a Payment Institution (PI) license in Malta. This authorization, issued under the European Union's payments framework, is a critical step to align OKX's payment products with the bloc's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2).
Under these updated rules, crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) offering payment services involving stablecoins must hold either a PI or an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) authorization. This license is separate from the MiCA license OKX received from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) in January 2025. Without this PI license, products involving stablecoins—now classified as electronic money tokens (EMTs)—could not legally operate in the EU.
"Securing a Payment Institution license ensures that these products operate on a fully compliant footing," said Erald Ghoos, CEO of OKX Europe. "Europe has chosen clarity over ambiguity when it comes to digital asset regulation [...] Stablecoins can meaningfully modernize money, improving cross-border efficiency and reducing friction in payments, but only if built within strong regulatory guardrails."
The license directly supports the rollout of OKX Pay and the OKX Card. The OKX Card, launched in late January in partnership with Mastercard, allows users to spend stablecoins like Circle's USDC and the Paxos-issued Global Dollar (USDG) at over 150 million merchant locations worldwide. OKX Pay, the exchange's broader payments tool, also falls under this new authorization.
With this acquisition, OKX now holds three key regulatory authorizations in Europe from its Malta hub, all passported across 28 EEA countries: its MiCA license (Jan 2025), a MiFID II-licensed entity for derivatives (Mar 2025), and now the PI license for stablecoin payments.
