On January 29, Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of the Central Bank of the UAE, marked a momentous occasion by conducting the first-ever cross-border payment using the UAE Central Bank’s digital currency, the ‘Digital Dirham.’ The transaction, amounting to Dh50 million, was executed through the innovative ‘mBridge‘ platform, connecting the...Read More
JPEX, a Dubai-based crypto exchange and lending platform, shuttered operations overnight due to a sudden liquidity crisis on the 17th of September. According to a statement by the platform, the fault lies with institutions and JPEX’s partners in Hong Kong, who acted unfairly and maliciously, respectively. Earn Program Ended Definitively According to a spokesperson for...Read More
Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) fined OPNX — the cryptocurrency project created by founders of the defunct digital asset hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) — along with the project’s founders and CEO, shortly after issuing a reprimand in May. While the executives have paid their fine, VARA said OPNX is yet to make...Read More
Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has filed a motion to remove its Dubai unit from the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings in the United States. According to a document submitted to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, FTX Dubai did not conduct any business activities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before the global entity...Read More
Amid regulatory turmoil elsewhere, Binance’s Dubai affiliate, Binance FZE, managed to score an Operational Minimum Viable Product license from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Binance has now become the first crypto trading platform to receive Dubai’s Operational MVP license enabling it to offer services such as exchange and broker-dealer services. The company is permitted...Read More
The leading cryptocurrency exchange Bitget revealed its plans to expand into the Middle East region, specifically the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The financial heart of the UAE – Dubai – has turned into a hotbed of cryptocurrency activity, attracting numerous companies with its friendly approach to the industry. Binance, Bybit, OKX, and other exchanges...Read More
On July 10, the Emirate’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued a market alert stating that it had initiated an enforcement action against the BitOasis crypto exchange. BitOasis is one of the largest crypto platforms focused on customers in the Middle East. Dubai Regulators on Alert According to the alert, BitOasis is under review for...Read More
The Canadian University of Dubai (CUD) partnered with Binance to enable students to pay their fees in digital currencies. With the recent collaboration, the exchange dived deeper into the local ecosystem. It received a cryptocurrency license from Dubai’s regulators in September last year. Settling the Semesters in Crypto The world’s leading crypto platform disclosed the...Read More
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) prohibited all activities involving privacy coins such as Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC). The regulator has also enforced certain rules on the domestic cryptocurrency sector to turn the city into an “international hub for virtual assets.” Dubai’s new Policy According to the recently released document, operations with anonymity-enhancing digital assets...Read More
Crypto exchange Deribit is planning to move its main headquarters to Dubai as soon as the third quarter of this year. The Bloomberg report suggests that the new office will be staffed by a team of 10 people comprising both domestic hires alongside the exchange’s core employees. Roles in management, compliance, and support will be...Read More
Two robbers reportedly deceived an Asian investor and his friend with a fake bitcoin scheme and stole nearly $50,000, three phones, and documents from them. The Criminal Court sent the wrongdoers to jail for three years and ordered their deportation once going out of prison. Crime in Dubai According to a recent coverage, the assault...Read More
The five-star hotel W Dubai – The Palm allowed guests to pay for accommodation in Shiba Inu (SHIB). Another luxurious venue in the city where travelers can settle bills in digital currencies, such as BTC and ETH, is Palazzo Versace Dubai. The American multinational fast food restaurant franchise – Subway – also jumped on the...Read More
The Switzerland-based fintech company – 21Shares AG – unveiled a Bitcoin exchange-traded product on Nasdaq Dubai, making it the first physically-backed BTC ETP in the Middle East. The firm has recently been on a listing spree, introducing Bitcoin and Ethereum ETNs on Nasdaq Stockholm, crypto ETPs on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam, and more. The Latest...Read More
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – Binance – obtained a minimal viable product (MVP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). The authorization enables the company to start providing a range of digital asset services to qualified retail and institutional investors in the region. Prior to that, Dubai’s watchdogs awarded Binance with a license...Read More
Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) reportedly instructed local cryptocurrency-related firms to require a license from the watchdog before advertising their products. The initiative could secure maximum protection for investors and limit the spread of misleading marketing campaigns focused on digital assets. Over the past several months, Dubai has emerged as a global cryptocurrency center...Read More
Seychelles-based crypto exchange, OKX, announced acquiring a provisional virtual assets license in Dubai. As per the official press release, the license was awarded by the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority under the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulators Authority (VARA). OKX will now be able to offer certain services to qualified investors in the United Arab Emirates,...Read More
A spokesperson from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has confirmed that the embattled VC firm Three Arrows Capital (3AC) was not registered in the region. “We can confirm that Three Arrows Capital is not a DFSA authorized firm and is not regulated by the DFSA,” said a DFSA spokesperson in an email to CoinDesk....Read More
CryptoCom continues its global expansion by securing provisional approval from Dubai’s regulators to provide a full range of cryptocurrency products and services in the city. It will receive its operating license once it fulfills all its mandatory requirements in the near term. According to a document shared with CryptoPotato, Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA)...Read More
The top financial regulator of the city-state – the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) – reportedly partnered with the finance industry to introduce “Project Guardian.” The initiative aims to investigate potential use-cases of asset tokenization and decentralized finance (DeFi) and will guide the nation’s efforts to become a cryptocurrency hub. Singapore to Strengthen its Crypto...Read More
The veteran US exchange is the latest to receive a license to function as a virtual asset trading platform in Abu Dhabi. Thus, Kraken follows a similar example set by other industry giants such as Binance and FTX. In an attempt to enhance the nation’s cryptocurrency engagement, the UAE has been among the leaders in...Read More
A news report suggesting that India’s hostile policy towards the digital asset sector is leading to an exodus of crypto-entrepreneurs from the country has said that Nischal Shetty and Siddharth Menon, both co-founders of WazirX, have left India along with their families for Dubai. Shetty and Menon are CEO and COO at WazirX, respectively. The...Read More
The latest Arab nation to open its arms to Binance is Dubai, however, crypto trading on the world’s largest exchange won’t be for everyone. The company stated that the virtual asset license permits it to extend “limited exchange products and services” to approved investors and professional financial service providers. The license enables Binance to operate...Read More
The cryptocurrency platform – FTX – has reportedly received regulatory approval to establish a regional headquarters in Dubai. According to FTX Europe’s Head Patrick Gruhn, the biggest city in the UAE provides “certainty and credibility,” which were key factors for the company to choose this destination. In addition, the local watchdogs greenlighted Binance to set...Read More
Binance Holdings Ltd. is currently in deliberations over a license to operate in Dubai, thereby boosting its presence in the Middle East. This was first reported by Bloomberg, citing a ‘person familiar with the matter’. Binance anticipates an accreditation to operate as a service provider in the Dubai World Trade Centre ‘free zone’ as soon...Read More
Earlier today, the leader of Dubai signed the “virtual assets law”, creating an independent authority for oversight of the cryptocurrency sector. The law is said to establish the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s regulatory position in the industry. According to his announcement, the authority will “organize the issuance and trading” of virtual assets and virtual tokens,...Read More
Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, has signed an agreement with the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) to lay down the vision of accelerating the set-up of a new hub for the digital asset industry. CryptoPotato reported earlier that Dubai authorities declared that the Dubai World Trae Center will become a comprehensive zone, as...Read More
