Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, has received in-principle approval to operate in Abu Dhabi, marking its third regulatory approval in the Middle Eastern region after Bahrain and Dubai.
It has been reported that the in-principle approval from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) allows Binance to operate as a broker-dealer in digital assets including cryptocurrencies. This marks yet another milestone for the crypto exchange, which envisions operating as a fully-licensed firm.
However, ADGM serves as an international financial free zone within the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which historically has played an important role in regulatory and supervisory oversight of the financial services provided within its jurisdiction.
ADGM stated:
“The IPA is part of Binance’s plans in establishing itself as a fully-regulated virtual asset service provider in an internationally recognized and well-regulated financial center.”
The report said that the ADGM also shared its intent to provide similar regulatory approvals for local as well as global crypto companies to further position Abu Dhabi as the “fast-growing virtual assets hub and digital economy.”
Dhaher bin Dhaher, the CEO of ADGM, too, welcomed the move by promising to aid Binance’s efforts to establish its presence in Abu Dhabi. Apart from Binance, prominent crypto exchange FTX has previously been awarded operational licenses in Dubai, the second biggest city in the UAE after Abu Dhabi.
Likewise, on March 22, ADGM published a consultation paper, proposing that ADGM-licensed companies will be allowed to facilitate nonfungible token (NFT) trading in the jurisdiction.
The free zone’s chief regulator, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), described NFTs in the ADGM consultation paper as intellectual property rather than “specified investments or financial instruments.”
Thus, the allowance of NFT trading will most likely require licensed companies to comply with ADGM’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Sanctions Rules.
Source: Cointelegraph