FTX Wins Approval to Start Crypto Exchange in Dubai

FTX has become the first crypto exchange to win approval to operate in Dubai.

FTX plans to establish a regional headquarters in the city and offer “crypto-derivatives products with centralized counterparty clearing to institutional markets,” CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said.

The UAE has emerged as one the most crypto-friendly countries and recently passed laws approving virtual assets. It also founded the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority with the intention of making the emirate the main crypto hub in the region.

Dubai on major offensive to lure crypto businesses

And authorities in its capital city of Dubai have been ramping up the efforts to enable the crypto industry’s development. As previously reported, UAE regulators came up with multiple arrangements to allow crypto trading in several free economic zones in Dubai last year.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Prime Minister of UAE, considers this move “a step that establishes the UAE’s position in this sector. The Authority will cooperate with all related entities to ensure maximum transparency and security for investors.”

“The certainty and credibility that Dubai assures in its adherence to these commitments allow FTX to safely pursue its overall strategy of scaling towards becoming the first virtual-asset service provider to enter global markets in a fully regulated manner,” Patrick Gruhn, of FTX Europe told Bloomberg.

Second major announcement by FTX this month

On March 7, FTX announced it would open headquarters in Cyprus to launch operations in Europe and the Middle East. 

The FTX Europe branch of the crypto exchange will be operating in both regions, and, according to Bloomberg, will be based in the Dubai World Trade Centre.

The exchange is valued at $32bn after raising $400m in its Series C funding round.

Binance has also announced it is in talks to acquire an operating license in Dubai. It has also been granted the first license for a global crypto-asset provider in Bahrain.