Crypto exchange OKX secures MiFID II license in Europe

Cryptocurrency speech OKX has acquired a cardinal European Union licence that volition alteration the institution to connection derivatives products passim the region, perchance opening the doorway to a much precocious conception of the trading community. 

In a March 12 announcement, OKX’s Europe CEO, Erald Ghoos, confirmed that the speech acquired a Markets successful Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) license. The licence volition let OKX to motorboat derivatives trading products for organization investors crossed the EU.

Source: OKX

The announcement came little than 2 months aft OKX secured a preauthorization nether the Markets successful Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which allows the speech to connection localized services crossed 28 markets wrong the European Economic Area.

Although the MiFID II and MiCA licensing regimes are seen arsenic complementary, they service antithetic purposes. MiFID II applies to each types of fiscal instruments and requires crypto derivatives platforms to register. 

On the different hand, MiCA applies to crypto-asset work providers dealing with cryptocurrencies that are not considered fiscal instruments. 

Headquartered successful Seychelles, OKX is 1 of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges based connected regular volume. According to CoinMarketCap, the speech processed astir $3.7 cardinal worthy of spot trades connected March 12. 

Related: Kraken secures MiFID licence to connection derivatives successful Europe

Growing request for derivatives

Demand for cryptocurrency derivatives has been connected the emergence arsenic much organization investors participate the integer plus space. A November study by CCData placed the centralized crypto derivatives market astatine astir $7 trillion, having climbed 89.4% and surpassing the erstwhile highest successful March of past year. 

Crypto derivatives volumes reached all-time highs successful the 4th fourth of 2024. Source: CCData

A February 2024 study by EY predicted that the improvement of decentralized concern (DeFi) would proceed to catalyze crypto derivatives markets. The study said:

“Despite the high-profile crypto steadfast bankruptcies successful the 2022 crypto recession, which person led to accrued calls for greater regularisation of the crypto plus industry, including the derivatives-trading sector, it is expected that the crypto derivatives marketplace volition proceed to turn and germinate with the motorboat of caller products that code marketplace participants’ concern and hedging needs.”

When Kraken secured its MiFID licence past month, it cited Europe arsenic “one of the astir progressive regions for crypto derivatives trading.”

Although not referencing solely derivatives trading, CME Group called Europe the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency economy, accounting for astir 18% of planetary transaction volumes. 

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