United Arab Emirates residents can now trade virtual assets in AED using their local bank account via a new partnership between the UAE’s Rakbank and digital asset exchanges Kraken MENA.
Currently, crypto investors in the UAE need to use foreign correspondents to fund their trading, Rakbank said in a statement, making them “incur high foreign exchange costs and fees, experience long lead and subject to overseas-jurisdiction asset governance.”
The partnership will allow UAE residents to fund their account faster within the country’s jurisdiction, the bank said.
Its chief executive officer Raheel Ahmed explained: “Kraken’s UAE-based investors will be able to transact in virtual assets transparently and efficiently through an ADGM-regulated crypto exchange that has the ability to convert between AED and crypto through UAE Central Bank-regulated banking channels.”
“We are pleased to support the UAE’s vision of becoming a global hub for virtual assets. We believe this offering will enable a simpler, faster and cheaper solution for UAE residents,” he added.
US-based Kraken was the first global crypto exchange platform to get a license by UAE regulator Abu Dhabi Global Market.
Ahmed Jassim Al Zaabi, ADGM’s chairman, said the Rakbank-Kraken tie-up plays well into Abu Dhabi’s “role as a catalyst for virtual-asset innovation.”
