OKCoin Exchange Launches in US With Fiat-to-Crypto Trading

Cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin has launched a branch in the U.S. market to offer trading services between U.S. dollars and several major cryptocurrencies.

According to OKCoin's website on Friday, the exchange already started the new offering with support of U.S. dollars deposit and withdrawal as well as trading against bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ethereum and ethereum classic.

The company filed a money service business (MSB) registration with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in November 2017. The document shows that the legal entity behind the exchange is called OKCoin USA Inc. and is based in Mountain View, California.

However, OKCoin states on its website that the fiat-to-crypto trading service is currently limited to investors in California. The firm also indicated in its initial MSB filing that it intends to operate the activity in its home state first.

The news follows a report weeks ago that indicated a similar move by Huobi, who launched a crypto-to-crypto trading service this month for all 50 states in the U.S. through a partner dubbed HBUS.

Earlier this year, HBUS also filed an MSB registration with the FinCEN. However, Li Lin, co-founder and chief executive of Huobi noted at the time that registering with the FinCEN does not resolve all of the possible regulatory issues that come with operating within the U.S.

As previously reported by CoinDesk, OKCoin and Huobi were once two of the major three crypto exchanges in China before the notable trading ban issued by the People's Bank of China in 2017.

Following the regulator's clampdown, the exchanges shifted their businesses overseas with a focus on crypto-to-crypto trading.

See the MSB registration below:

OKCoin US Inc. MSB Registration by CoinDesk on Scribd