OKX sets up its European headquarters in Paris

22.05.2023
OKX sets up its European headquarters in Paris
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The Seychelles-based exchange announced on Tuesday that it had applied to the AMF for PSAN registration.

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The Seychelles-based exchange platform announced on Tuesday that it had filed with the AMF to obtain its PSAN registration.

It's a new industry giant landing in Paris. As we revealed on 11 May (read here), exchange platform OKX has set up shop in the French capital. This Tuesday, the company officially announced that it had taken up offices and filed with the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) its registration to become a PSAN (digital asset service provider).

"We want to accelerate in Europe and Paris is the best place to do it," explains Tim Byun, head of government relations for the platform, which does not yet have a registration in Europe. The company is in discussions with the Maltese authorities, but "Paris is definitely the priority for us", confirms Tim Byun.

OKX is considered to be one of the biggest exchange platforms on the planet. Founded in 2017, the company claims just over 50 million users worldwide, mainly in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, where it precisely wants to expand. "The European Union is an important market where there is stability and visibility thanks to the MiCA regulation," explains Tim Byun.

European headquarters in Paris

OKX set up offices in Paris in April. "The quality of the crypto ecosystem played a big part, but it wasn't the only point. The presence of many universities and a lot of talent was also a factor," explains Tim Byun.

"This decision reinforces our aspirations to become a key player in Web3 technologies. The choice of OKX testifies to the success of the policies put in place by the French government with the aim of encouraging the development of an innovative, resilient and secure crypto sector," stresses Digital Minister Jean-Noël Barrot for his part.

In just one year, Paris has attracted several industry giants such as platforms Binance and Cryptocom, as well as USDC stablecoin issuer Circle.

According to our information, OKX, which employs 3,600 people worldwide, is also planning to make Paris its European headquarters. The company will be hiring around thirty people over the next twelve months. This figure could be even higher if the markets accelerate.




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Raphaël Bloch

Raphaël Bloch is CEO and co-founder of The Big Whale, an independent market intelligence platform on digital assets serving financial market participants through editorial coverage, research, a weekly briefing, and in-person events. He co-founded The Big Whale in April 2022. At the platform, he moderates and hosts institutional events bringing together banks, asset managers, custodians, and infrastructure providers on topics including staking, on-chain yield, stablecoins, DeFi lending, and tokenisation. He has moderated panels at events hosted in partnership with Bitwise, Everstake, Gemini, Morpho, Hexarq, Coinhouse, Delubac, Franklin Templeton, and the Ethereum Foundation, held in London and Paris between late 2025 and mid-2026.

Before founding The Big Whale, Bloch worked as a reporter at Les Echos from December 2016 to March 2020, then at L'Express from March 2020 to March 2022. He also previously worked at Reuters. Since September 2022, he has held a concurrent role as Business Analyst at BFM Business. He has been active in crypto journalism since 2016. He holds degrees from emlyon and the CFJ.

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