UAE

Digital asset investment platform Fasset was granted an operational license on Nov. 29, according to a listing on the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) website.The Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) Licence granted to Fasset allows it to perform broker-dealer services lega ...

London-based crypto trading firm Copper plans to start offering tokenized securities early next year, according to reports on Nov. 29. Under the leadership of former British Chancellor Phillip Hammond, the company expects to capitalize on institutional investors' demand.The service is expe ...

Cryptocurrency mining firm Phoenix Group is preparing for its public trading launch after seeing a significant oversubscription during the pre-market sale on Nov. 21.Phoenix’s public trading launch will be delayed as the firm has revised the date for its forthcoming initial public offering ...

Crypto investment platforms eToro and M2 received various degrees of approval from Abu Dhabi Financial Markets Authority (ADGM) to offer their services in the United Arab Emirates.eToro received approval for a Financial Services Permission (FSP) that allows a provider to operate as a broke ...

Dubai’s dedicated crypto regulator, the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), is switching leaders as it prepares for the next phase of its “ramp up to full-scale market operations” in 2023. In a statement sent to Cointelegraph, VARA said that its incumbent CEO, Henson Orser, wil ...

Hong Kong-founded institutional cryptocurrency asset custodian Hex Trust has been given the green light to offer virtual asset custodial services to institutional clients and investors in Dubai.The firm, which established an office in the city in June 2022, received a full virtual asset se ...

SC Ventures, the fintech investment arm of the British bank Standard Chartered, will establish a Digital Asset Joint Venture investment company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in partnership with a Japanese financial conglomerate, SBI Holdings. In the press release from Nov. 9, Alex ...

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE), along with other regulators in the country, has recently published new joint guidance for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating within the country. The new guidelines include penalties for VASPs operating without proper licenses wi ...

The metaverse may no longer have mainstream appeal to some global tech leaders compared to two years ago. However, weaknesses in the testing of the various investments and initiatives in the emerging technology may have resulted in some of them failing.On the sidelines of the recent Cardan ...

Abu Dhabi, the second-most populous emirate in the UAE, has introduced a formal regulatory framework for Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) and other digital ledger entities as it doubles down on its ambition to be a leader in digital asset innovation within the Middle East.The ...

The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Registration Authority has introduced comprehensive regulations governing Web3 organizations. The international financial free zone’s regulatory framework is “purpose-built” and the first of its kind, the agency claimed.The Distributed L ...

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released a colorful and fact-filled Project mBridge update on Oct. 31. The publication combines technical and promotional discussions in a shift of tone as the project prepares to become a minimum viable project for commercial launch next year.T ...

Ras Al Khaimah ruler Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi inaugurated the new RAK Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO), an economic free zone dedicated to supporting companies involved in digital and virtual assets, blockchain, Web3, and artificial intelligence (AI), on Oct. 19.As previously reported ...

Major cryptocurrency exchanges and businesses are being lured to a proverbial crypto oasis around the Persian Gulf, according to Binance FZE’s general manager.Alex Chehade, who heads Binance's local operation in Dubai, tells Cointelegraph reporter Ezra Reguerra that progressive regulatory ...

Saudi Arabia has ramped up its economic diversification efforts driven by its ambitious Vision 2030. In a bid to diversify its economy away from a dependence on oil, the kingdom has embraced emerging technologies, such as blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI), and tapped into bo ...

Komainu, a joint venture between leading Nomura, and crypto firms CoinShares and Ledger, received a full operating license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has opened its door to crypto innovations, supported by federal grants and pro-crypto r ...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MCCE) is developing a carbon credit system in a preliminary partnership with Industrial Innovation Group and Venom Foundation.Blockchain technology is utilized by organizations and countries to track carbon credits. ...

The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority has granted its financial services permission for cryptocurrency firm Rain to offer brokerage and custody services to residents. In a July 25 announcement, Rain said the regulatory approval will allow certain U ...

Dubai’s cryptocurrency regulator has suspended the license of crypto exchange BitOasis for not meeting mandated conditions within the timeframes set out by the authority.On July 10, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued two alerts saying its undertaken enforcement action ag ...

The United Arab Emirates is becoming the next big focus for Binance in the wake of a slew of enforcement actions in the United States against the crypto exchange.Speaking to Cointelegraph, Binance Dubai general manager Alex Chehade said the UAE is a prime destination for crypto businesses ...

The managing director of Ripple in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) believes that the regulation of the cryptocurrency industry in this region is much more progressive than in the US. Navin Gupta said in an interview that Ripple intends to expand its presence in th ...

The stablecoin regulation bill has come under fire from Democratic lawmakers in the United States, who are concerned that the lack of a clear regulatory framework may lead to stablecoin issuers seeking out other jurisdictions. The bill, which was created in 2022 by Republican Patrick McHenry of N ...

Dubai, one of the seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates, has officially announced that it is now accepting applications from cryptocurrency companies looking to obtain licenses to operate within the region. To do business in the UAE, digital asset firms must be legally registered with the Du ...

The Bittrex crypto exchange and its co-founder, William Shikhara, are facing legal action from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The regulator has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington, claiming that Bittrex allowed the trading of six crypt ...

Raoul Pal, the former top executive at Goldman Sachs and current CEO of Real Vision, has predicted that American cryptocurrency companies may have to relocate their headquarters to other parts of the world due to regulatory issues. In an interview with the Rug Radio podcast, Pal drew parallels to ...

The UAE Central Bank has announced a strategic partnership with G42 Cloud and R3 to facilitate the implementation of their CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) strategy. The CBUAE (Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates) representative has confirmed the successful completion of preliminary test ...