Crypto exchange OKX has secured a European payments institution license in Malta for its operations. The license gives the exchange a clear path to expand stablecoin services across the European Union.
This new authorization lets the exchange continue running products like OKX Pay and the OKX Card. It keeps these services compliant with upcoming EU rules for digital assets and payments.
How the Malta License Supports OKX’s Stablecoin Push
OKX obtained a Payment Institution, or PI, license from Maltese regulators for its European operations. Under EU passporting rules, this Maltese PI license will cover the whole European Economic Area. The license brings the exchange in line with the EU’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets regulation, known as MiCA. It also aligns the exchange with the updated Payment Services Directive, PSD2, which fully applies from March 2026.
Under PSD2 and MiCA, stablecoins fall under the category of electronic money tokens, and firms that use them for payments must hold either a PI or electronic money institution license. OKX says the new authorization ensures it can continue offering stablecoin‑based payment services without interruption as the rules tighten.
What This Means for OKX Pay and the OKX Card
OKX launched the crypto‑funded OKX Card with Mastercard in Europe in late January. The card lets users spend stablecoins like USDC and Paxos‑issued Global Dollar at many merchant locations.. At checkout, it converts users’ stablecoin balances into euros at the point of sale.
OKX Europe CEO Erald Ghoos says the license puts these products on a fully compliant footing as they bring stablecoin payments into everyday use. The card and wallet tools now have regulatory backing to scale across 28 EEA countries from OKX’s Malta hub.
This payments license adds to a growing stack of EU approvals that the company has built over the past year. The exchange already holds a MiCA license for spot crypto services and a MiFID II‑licensed entity for derivatives, both also anchored in Malta.
With all three in place, OKX can offer trading, derivatives, and stablecoin payments under one regulated structure for European users. Analysts view the move as a test case for how global exchanges adapt to MiCA and PSD2, and as a signal that stablecoins will sit at the center of Europe’s next phase of crypto payments.
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