Amidst the growing regulatory scrutiny on the cryptocurrency industry, especially crypto exchanges, Okcoin has secured approval from the Malta Financial Services Authority and formal registration from the Netherlands Central Bank.

Founded in 2013, Okcoin is now licensed in Malta and the Netherlands and can expand its services to European customers. Hong Fang, CEO at Okcoin, said,

“With these licenses, we will continue growing our presence aggressively in Europe and adding payment rails and banking partnerships to further establish ourselves as a trusted partner for retail and institutional clients.”

Europe is the exchange’s “big focus,” as part of its global growth plans, towards which they added about 25 team members to its headcount this year to “better serve” in this region.

“We're seeing an increasing trend of European Neo-banks looking to provide yield on their deposits,” noted Fang citing a PwC report that highlighted that 42% of global crypto hedge funds are involved in staking. Okcoin’s APIs and Earn product will provide the banks with this capability, it said.

With the formal approval from Malta authorities, Okcoin will be the only US-headquartered exchange to receive a Class 4 license, it said. The exchange also has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Korea.

As for the registration with the Dutch Central bank, it will enable banking partnerships across Europe where the exchange said it would maintain best compliance practices for greater connections with the financial system.

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