Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has received license to operate as a Virtual Asset Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) and Custodian in Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE.
It is the first such exchange to receive a Financial Services Permission (FSP) licence to operate a regulated virtual asset exchange platform in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to service the needs of the Middle East and North Africa region. Kraken will be the first global virtual assets exchange group in the UAE to offer investors the ability to invest, trade, withdraw and deposit virtual assets directly in local AED currency.
“The UAE is one of the most financially innovative jurisdictions in the world, with region-leading crypto participation rates by both consumer and professional investors. The ADGM and its financial regulator have been true pioneers for global crypto regulation,” said Curtis Ting, managing director of EMEA at Kraken.
ADGM introduced its virtual asset regulatory framework in 2018, and the UAE has been one of the first countries globally to introduce crypto and virtual asset regulation.
“As an International Financial Centre and business enabler, ADGM has been doubling-down its efforts in accelerating new growth and investment opportunities, like the virtual assets sector, while supporting the financial sustainability and the economic diversification of Abu Dhabi,” said Dhaher bin Dhaher, CEO of the Registration Authority, ADGM.
The Kraken group, founded in 2011, is the first ever global crypto exchange to receive a licence, and serves a client base of more than 9 million across 60 countries.
