Cryptocurrency exchange OKX is rolling out a payment card in Europe, allowing users to spend stablecoins at merchants accepting Mastercard.
The OKX Card is issued through the company’s Electronic Money Institution (EMI) partner, Monavate, OKX said Wednesday in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.
At launch, the card supports spending in stablecoins including Circle’s USDC (USDC) and the Paxos-issued Global Dollar (USDG).
The move comes as crypto companies seek to expand the use of stablecoins for everyday payments under Europe’s evolving crypto regulatory framework.
“With OKX Card, we’re making it simple for anyone in Europe to use crypto for real-world purchases,” OKX Europe CEO Erald Ghoos said.
How the card is regulated in Europe
OKX is a regulated crypto-asset service provider (CASP) in the European Union under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework. The OKX Card itself is regulated through Monavate, the EMI that issues the card and operates it on Mastercard’s global network.
Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Monavate operates within the European Economic Area in compliance with strict Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) standards, a spokesperson for OKX told Cointelegraph.
Monavate is set to be acquired by self-custodial wallet provider Exodus under a definitive agreement announced in November 2025, as part of the acquisition of its parent company W3C Corp and affiliated firm Baanx.
The card is only available after mandatory KYC checks
While the OKX Card is based on OKX Pay, a self-custodial wallet accessible through the OKX app that can be topped up directly from the exchange, the card offering is only available to verified OKX users.
All users must pass a rigorous KYC and AML process in compliance with regulatory obligations under MiCA and applicable EU AML Directives and Regulations, the company said.
Related: Visa-linked stablecoin platform Rain raises $250M at $1.95B valuation
“Fundamentally, most people have three financial needs: to pay and be paid, to accrue wealth and to access credit. OKX Card provides a practical tool to meet the first of those,” OKX Europe CEO Ghoos told Cointelegraph, adding:
“While the ability to freely make payments is core to the founding vision of crypto, for the average user this can be technically challenging […] With OKX Card our users can realise this vision and transact freely and securely in real life […] while staying in total control of their assets.”
OKX’s crypto card launch in the EU marked another milestone in the growing adoption of crypto-linked payments, as Visa-issued crypto cards reportedly saw a 525% increase in total net spending in 2025.
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