OKX SG, the Singapore arm of global crypto exchange OKX, has secured a full Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The company also appointed Gracie Lin, a former MAS official, as the new CEO of OKX Singapore.
The MPI license, received in March as an in-principle approval, allows OKX SG to offer unlimited payment services, including digital payment tokens, cross-border transfers, and spot trading of cryptocurrencies.
OKX SG CEO Gracie Lin said, “The MPI license is an important step in our journey, and we are more committed than ever to enabling access to digital assets for our customers, and contributing to the community and ecosystem.”
This is considered to be a major decision by the management of OKX with the appointment of Gracie Lin. She worked at MAS from 2005 to 2015, holding the rank of deputy director and head of money markets.
Lin also served as a vice president of business management at GIC and most recently oversaw strategy and economics at Grab, the ride-hailing app giant of Southeast Asia.
OKX is also expanding its operations across Asia and Europe. The exchange started its Australian operations in May and is currently providing spot trading and derivatives to verified clients.
In June, it launched a crypto trading service and Web3 wallet in the Netherlands. Also, OKX has selected Malta as the location for its MiCA compliance within the European Union.
However, OKX has recently pulled out its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license application in Hong Kong and stopped its operations there. The company has not explained why it made this decision but this move is strategic in the long run.
