Exchanges

OKX EU review 2026: international exchange with EU licences

Fully licensed via Malta — but with X-Perps instead of true perpetuals, and yield on one stablecoin only.

Overview

OKX is one of the largest international crypto exchanges. OKX Europe Markets Ltd (Malta) serves European users under MiCA and MiFID II. The EU offering differs markedly from OKX Global — lower leverage caps and 60-month expiry X-Perps instead of true perpetuals.

Licences and regulation

Products

ProductStatusDetails
Spot cryptoLiveUnder MiCA
X-Perps (crypto)Live60-month expiry futures, not true perpetuals
X-Perps (stocks)Live7 US tech stocks as synthetic derivatives
X-Perps (commodities)LiveGold, silver, oil
Real tokenised stocksNoSynthetic X-Perps only
SEPA fiat railsLimitedVia partners

Fees, yield and efficiency

Spot 0.05%/0.08%, X-Perps 0.02%/0.05% (base). Yield on collateral limited to USDG only (base 3.5%, VIP 4.1%, €100K+ threshold); USDC/USD earn nothing. Selected margin with 8 collateral assets; funding and trading accounts are split (manual transfers).

Proof of Reserves

Monthly zk-STARK/Merkle proofs covering 22 coins; reserve ratios 100-110%; 42+ consecutive reports.

Pros / cons

Pros: MiCA + MiFID II; mature monthly PoR cadence; X-Perps on stocks and commodities; strong brand.

Cons: DNB fine history; no true perpetuals; no real stocks; yield on USDG only; split accounts.

Best suited for

Traders wanting X-Perps on stocks/commodities, multi-asset traders comfortable with USDG, users preferring an established brand.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly are X-Perps?
Expiry futures with a 60-month term functioning like perpetuals. See Perpetuals vs expiry futures.

Why is leverage lower than on OKX Global?
MiFID II caps retail leverage.

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