OKX reported a 53-fold surge in trading volume across its licensed and regulated markets in 2025 following a strategic expansion into the United States and the European Economic Area. The spike coincided with MiCA-aligned operations in Europe and a compliance-led re-entry into the US, changes that materially strengthened liquidity and institutional access.
OKX secured a MiCA license in Malta in January 2025 and used the regulation’s passporting framework to launch regulated centralized exchanges in France, Germany and Poland, enabling operations across 29 EEA countries. MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) is the EU regulatory framework for crypto services that standardizes authorization, custody and consumer safeguards across member states.
For European customers OKX rolled out euro trading pairs, 10x leverage spot margin trading, staking products, trading bots and localized support, positioning the platform to meet diverse retail and institutional needs under harmonized rules.
The firm expanded a partnership with Standard Chartered in Europe to offer institutional-grade custody and collateral mirroring, designed to reduce counterparty concerns among larger investors. OKX Europe’s leadership framed France as a strategic market and emphasized custodian safeguards and segregated funds as central to institutional uptake, while industry observers noted that some market participants saw EU volumes rise by about 70% in Q1 2025 following the MiCA licensing window opening.
US re-entry and regulatory remediation
OKX’s US strategy followed a major settlement with the Department of Justice that totaled $505 million, comprising an $84 million civil penalty and $421 million in forfeiture related to past AML deficiencies. After resolving those matters, OKX legally relaunched a US crypto exchange, appointed Roshan Robert as US CEO and established a regional headquarters in San Jose, California.
The platform is live in 46 states plus Washington D.C., with plans to extend its footprint further. The company is reportedly exploring a potential future US IPO as part of its long-term roadmap, and the relaunch was positioned as compliance-first, aiming to attract institutional clients by coupling regulated access with enhanced trading tools.
OKX’s global metrics reported in the same period put the exchange as the second-largest by trading volume and third in spot trading worldwide, serving more than 50 million users across 160+ countries. These rankings contextualized the platform’s scale as it entered newly regulated jurisdictions.
To reinforce transparency and institutional trust, OKX continued monthly Proof of Reserves disclosures. These operational and disclosure measures were highlighted as key factors driving the surge in activity in newly regulated markets.
The combined regulatory push in Europe and a compliance-driven US relaunch appear to have reshaped OKX’s access to institutional flows and liquidity, contributing to the reported 53-fold volume increase.
