Crypto World
OKX Launches Regulated Crypto Derivatives in Europe
OKX said Wednesday it is rolling out a Europe-specific crypto derivatives product called X-Perps, extending its regulated offering across the European Economic Area (EEA) through its Malta-based MiFID business.
The company said the new derivatives product is available to retail and institutional traders across all 30 EEA countries.
OKX said the platform is purpose-built in compliance with the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), a European Union regulatory framework governing financial instruments such as securities and derivatives.
The launch follows OKX’s March 2025 announcement that it had acquired a MiFID-licensed entity in Malta, which allowed the exchange to expand its derivatives trading across the EEA.
Platform features multi-asset collateral and up to 10x leverage
OKX said X-Perps offers five-year expiry crypto derivatives with up to 10x leverage and supports multi-asset collateral, including euros, US dollars and crypto assets.
At launch, the platform offers pairs for numerous crypto assets, including major coins such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and XRP (XRP), as well as memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Pepe (PEPE).
“OKX will be rolling out more pairs and exploring high-demand products for retail and institutional traders as it builds out its fully featured, regulated European derivatives platform,” the company said in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.
A structurally different product designed for Europe
OKX’s launch of X-Perps comes as the exchange has emerged as a major player in derivatives trading.
According to CoinGlass, OKX ranked as the second-largest exchange in crypto derivatives in the first quarter of 2026, after Binance, with a cumulative quarterly trading volume of $2.19 trillion, versus Binance’s $4.9 trillion.
X-Perps is specifically structured to comply with MiFID requirements and will differ from products offered under other regulatory frameworks.
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OKX Europe CEO Erald Ghoos told Cointelegraph at Paris Blockchain Week that perpetual derivatives “cannot exist” under MiFID II because they would otherwise be classified as contracts for difference (CFDs). He said the exchange instead structured the product as a five-year expiry futures contract to ensure compliance with regional regulatory requirements.
He also said in a post on X that as much as 95% of crypto derivatives trading volume still occurs offshore.
“I do believe that a lot of users will transition from offshore back to a fully regulated onshore environment,” Ghoos said, adding: “With X-Perps, we are bridging that gap under a fully regulated exchange where we offer great liquidity.”
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