OKX announced the launch of a new debit card in Europe and said stablecoins are moving beyond cryptocurrency experimentation to trusted financial infrastructure.
“Momentum is rapidly building,” OKX Europe CEO Erardo Goos told CoinDesk. “Regulators are putting real guardrails in place, big banks are not only taking them seriously when it comes to payments and payments, but they are also joining industry-wide EU efforts to become issuers, and everyday users are choosing faster, cheaper digital payments.”
European regulators are accelerating that momentum through the rollout of the EU Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework, which places stablecoin issuers and crypto service providers under a single block-wide regulatory regime.
Goose’s comments came alongside OKX’s announcement that it is rolling out a new crypto payment card in Europe, allowing users to spend stablecoins directly at merchants that accept Mastercard.
The OKX card connects self-custodial wallets with real-world payments, offering fee-free spending, but with a 0.4% market spread and cryptocurrency rewards applied at the point of conversion.
Unlike most crypto cards that require manual conversion or preloading of funds, the OKX card allows users to pay with stablecoins held in their wallets. Assets are converted only at the time of purchase. Users can earn up to 20% crypto rewards during a limited promotional period.
The card supports tap-to-pay functionality through mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay and can be used at more than 150 million locations worldwide. It is designed to integrate with OKX’s on-chain infrastructure, avoiding centralized management and emphasizing user control. “We are making it easy for anyone in Europe to use cryptocurrencies for real-world purchases instantly, securely, and transparently,” Guth concluded.
OKX issues cards through authorized European payment providers and operates in compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations. Mastercard executive Christian Lau said the expansion is part of an effort to bring stablecoins “into the financial mainstream.”
Goose said he believes stablecoins will soon be widely adopted. “Early adopters may be crypto natives, but over time we believe that instant, low-cost, global payments through stablecoins will become the default for everyone.”
