Dutch Central Bank Fines OKX $2.6M for Operating Without License

The Dutch central bank has imposed a $2.6 million (€2.25 million) fine on cryptocurrency exchange OKX for operating in the Netherlands without the required registration. The Dutch National Bank (DNB) said the violation took place between July 2023 and August 2024, just before the EU’s new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations come into effect.

Under Dutch law, which has been in place since 2020, crypto firms must register with the DNB to help strengthen anti-money laundering (AML) oversight and safeguard users. OKX failed to comply during the period in question, leading to the penalty.

In a statement, the exchange said it was “pleased to have resolved this matter,” adding that it had not actively targeted Dutch customers at the time. OKX also clarified that the fine does not affect OKCoin Europe, its MiCA-licensed entity, which is legally registered to operate in the Netherlands. The exchange stressed that the Dutch market remains important to its business and that it intends to continue operating there within the regulatory framework.

The Dutch regulator has penalised other major exchanges in the past. Binance was fined in 2022 before deciding to exit the country, while Coinbase and Crypto.com were both sanctioned in 2023 for failing to meet registration requirements.

This is not the first time OKX has faced compliance challenges abroad. In April 2024, Maltese regulators fined the platform €1.1 million ($1.2 million) for breaching AML rules. More recently, in August 2024, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission issued a warning against OKX and several other exchanges for providing services without local approval.

The fine in the Netherlands highlights ongoing tensions between crypto platforms and regulators as Europe prepares to roll out its MiCA framework, which aims to harmonise rules across the bloc.