The second-biggest cryptocurrency exchange, OKX, and the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) agreed a little-noticed settlement last month for several “failings” pertaining to Okcoin Europe, for a total of 304,000 euros ($329,000).
According to a filing, the Malta regulator’s examination discovered violations of Article 41 of the MFSA Virtual Financial Assets Act. Despite being ambiguous, the article appears to suggest that a company providing regulated financial services or digital assets must abide by Maltese government regulations or face penalties or expulsion from the nation.
“On 22 January 2024 the MFSA agreed to settle pending matters with the Company after demonstration of goodwill by the Company,” said the authority. “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.”
According to the MFSA, OKX’s regulatory shortcomings amounted to: “The information which the Authority is in a position to divulge has already been made public through the notice.”
OKX turned down the chance to go into further detail about the nature of the regulatory issue. Regarding the extent of the exchange’s flaws and the goodwill settlement, an OKX official stated that no more comments will be made. In Europe and the US, OKX has started retiring its Okcoin businesses and renaming them as OKX.