EU Markets Watchdog Criticizes Malta Over Crypto Oversight

Europe’s markets regulator criticized crypto oversight in Malta, which has granted licenses to several large exchanges this year, for falling short in several areas related to an unidentified entity it authorized.

The European Securities and Markets Authority said on Thursday it had completed a fast-track peer review of processes at the Malta Financial Services Authority, through which OKX, Gemini and Crypto.com received licenses since the start of 2025. The review focused on the authorization process and subsequent oversight of a single crypto provider which ESMA didn’t name.