By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 25th, 2024
Apart from Malta, OKX has encountered regulatory troubles in other countries. The exchange is facing regulatory hurdles in India and has asked users to stop trading margins, perpetuals, and futures options.
OKX, one of the leading cryptocurrency service providers in the industry, has reached a settlement agreement with the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) regarding the violation of certain rules in the country.
In an official filing published in February, the financial regulator said it agreed to settle with the company for £304,000 after demonstrating goodwill.
OKX Resolves Regulatory Issues in Malta
OKX announced in December 2023 that it is expanding its business offerings in Malta to strengthen its global presence. The company even opened a local office in compliance with the country’s crypto regulations to better service its customers in the region.
However, after a few weeks of operation, the Maltese government began looking into the firm for potential “failings” in relation to its operations in the nation.
During the investigation, authorities found that the company violated the country’s Virtual Financial Assets Act. The law demands that crypto service providers must comply with the government directives or risk fines or being evicted from the country.
On January 22, 2024, the financial watchdog agreed to resolve all pending legal matters with OKX. The exchange settled the case and paid the £304,000 penalties without attracting the media’s attention.
In addition to paying the fine, OKX and MFSA agreed to several other measures, including hiring a third party to review the firm’s operations.
“Additionally, the Company and the MFSA have also agreed on a number of measures, including the appointment of an independent third-party service provider to inter alia, review the adequacy of the Company’s governance arrangements,” reads the filing.
OKX Faces Regulatory Hurdles in India
Apart from Malta, OKX has encountered regulatory troubles in other countries. The exchange is facing regulatory hurdles in India and has asked users to stop trading margins, perpetuals, and futures options.
Users have also been asked to withdraw all their assets from the platform as it intends to shut down activities on the exchange by April 30, 2024.
The company and other crypto exchanges such as Binance, KuCoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex received a warning from the country’s finance ministry for compliance failures. The Indian Finance Ministry served them notices in December 2023 to exit the country for operating illegally and violating India’s anti-money laundering laws.
OKX Leaves the Canadian Market
OKX has also ended operations in Canada after the country’s financial regulator, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) introduced new guidelines for cryptocurrency exchanges, including investor limits and mandatory registrations.
The financial authorities said that exchanges that fail to comply with the rules will face potential enforcement action. OKX, along with other digital asset trading platforms such as Binance, left the Canadian market in hopes of returning when the regulatory environment is favorable.