OKX Asset Listings - Whitepapers

EEA Asset Listing Guide: MiCA Whitepaper Compliance

To comply with the full implementation of the Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCA) in the European Economic Area (EEA), OKX requires all crypto asset projects to have a MiCA-compliant whitepaper and associated explanatory notes before they can be listed or traded on our platform in the region.This is a mandatory regulatory requirement. The final, approved whitepaper will be published on the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) register and must also be made available on the OKX website.Below is a step-by-step guide for project teams to meet these requirements.

Step 1: Understand the Timeline and Submission Rule

• Mandatory Deadline: You must submit your completed whitepaper to a National Competent Authority (NCA) in an EU member state (e.g., MFSA in Malta, AMF in France, BaFin in Germany) at least 20 business days before your target listing date on OKX.

• Impact on Listing: The 20-day countdown to your listing begins only after you have successfully submitted the whitepaper to the NCA. Unfortunately, under MiCA, if the deadline is missed or the whitepaper submitted is not compliant, the token listing in the European market will need to be postponed

Step 2: Draft Your Whitepaper and Prepare Data

The European Parliament has approved standard templates for these documents. The general whitepaper template can be accessed here., with the specific section for crypto-assets other than asset-referenced or e-money tokens found on pages 5-23. Furthermore, guidelines prepared by the EU Supervisory Authorities (ESA)(ESMA, EIOPA, and the EBA) regarding explanatory notes and standardized classification tests are available here (pages 20-23).

• Official Templates: You are required to use the standardized templates provided by European authorities.

  • [Link to Whitepaper Template for crypto-assets]

  • [Link to Explanatory Notes & Classification Guidelines from ESMA/EBA]

• Provide ESG Data: MiCA requires each token’s whitepaper to include a dedicated ESG/Sustainability disclosure section, covering the token's environmental impact and related indicators. To fulfill this requirement, OKX requests that project teams supply the relevant data.

  • Several specialised firms can assist with calculating and providing these ESG metrics.

• Machine-Readable Data Requirement: Whitepapers for Other Crypto-Assets must be submitted in a machine-readable format using the template XLSM file provided by ESMA (SCWP - for OTHR token.xlsm).

  • This work must be completed on a Windows machine due to macro and compatibility constraints.

  • Follow the required field formats exactly — date fields must contain valid dates (e.g., YYYY-MM-DD), monetary/decimal fields must contain numerical values only, and placeholders like “N/A” are not allowed where a specific data type is required.

  • Incorrect formats may cause the file to fail the machine-readable whitepaper creation.

Step 3: Submit to the Regulator and OKX

This process involves two parallel actions:

1. Submission to NCA: Your project team (or legal counsel) must submit the final whitepaper to your chosen EU NCA. The NCA will review the submission and forward it to ESMA for publication on their EU-wide register.

2. Provide Proof to OKX: You must provide OKX with official evidence that the whitepaper has been successfully submitted to the NCA.

Step 4: Grant OKX Permission to Publish

Kindly note that OKX has the regulatory obligation to publish the whitepaper on its EU website for its EEA users.For the token to be listed, you will need to provide us with consent to use the MiCA-approved whitepaper; without such a whitepaper, the token will not be listed on OKX.

• How to grant consent to OKX: Please send the whitepaper and the required permission statement via whitepapers.mica@okx.com.

• Required Permission Language: Please insert the following statement when submitting your whitepaper to OKX

  • The [project team name] hereby confirms and consents for OKX Europe Limited to use and publish the [Token] whitepaper on its website, in line with MiCA requirements.

Ongoing Obligations Post-Listing

Your project team is responsible for ensuring the whitepaper remains accurate and up-to-date. Any material changes must be reflected in a revised whitepaper and communicated to both the NCA and OKX in a timely manner.

Disclaimer: This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Project teams are solely responsible for determining and satisfying their own regulatory requirements under MiCA. OKX reserves the right to request additional information during the due diligence process. Successful filing of a MiCA whitepaper with an EU authority does not guarantee that an asset will be approved for listing on OKX.