Malta continues to be at the forefront of the crypto space with OKEx, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, announcing a partnership with the Malta Stock Exchange to create a new security token trading platform.

The new exchange will operate under the name OKMSX and bring together OKEx‘s expertise in the digital assett market along and the Malta Stock Exchange’s 26-year track record of operating as a regulated stock exchange OKMSX will also be launching an institutional grade security token trading platform which should commence operations in Malta by the first quarter of 2019.

Commenting on the signing of the memorandum of understanding(MOU), Tim Byun, chief risk officer and head of government relations at OKEx said that this is an important development and a milestone for the island’s economic development.

“Malta is taking the helm of regulating the blockchain technology and cultivating a regulated cryptocurrency and ICO epicenter,”  he said. “This joint venture marks our confidence in the Maltese government as well as our commitment to providing an efficient, secure, and transparent blockchain trading environment to clients worldwide.”

Joseph Portelli, chairman of the Malta Stock Exchange, had a similar takeaway:

 “Malta is on the cusp of becoming a center of excellence within the global digital innovation landscape. We are thrilled to be teaming up with OKEx, a leader in the digital currency sector, to leverage our expertise on the compliance and regulatory front to truly be a trailblazer within the security token sector.”

Parliamentary Secretary for Digital Innovation and Financial Services Silvio Schembri was also enthusiastic about the new development, predicting that it would lead to “fruitful collaboration” moving forward.

“Today Malta opened up a way for legally binding listing and trading of tokenized securities. We are proud of Malta Stock Exchange to enter a partnership with a worldwide leader in primary offerings on blockchain such as OKEx. I look forward to the fruitful collaboration in the future,” he said.

As CCN reported, OKEx is accelerating its global expansion into Malta by establishing an office and hiring local staff and expects to complete the move by the end of the third quarter of this year. The exchange  is also a key sponsor of the DELTA Summit, Malta’s official blockchain, and digital innovation event.

This is the second development in just a few hours, with Binance and Neufund recently announcing a similar partnership with the MSE.