Crypto.com is one step closer to full regulatory approval in Dubai having received a preparatory licence in the country.
The exchange has now completed two out of the three licence approvals needed to become operational in the Middle Eastern country, with only the operational licence needed to become active in the Dubai crypto market.
Crypto.com’s Dubai hub, CRO DAX Middle East FZE, was granted a provisional permit last March, and will now likely begin the process of obtaining its operational licence from the country’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
In order to receive the third and final licence, Crypto.com wil need to ‘fully satisfy select conditions and localisation requirements defined by VARA’ before the company can commence on offering its services in Dubai.
Gaining operational clearance will allow the exchange to offer regulated virtual asset service activities, such as exchange, broker-dealer, management and investment services via the Crypto.com app and the exchange website.
“It is an incredible honour to be the one of the first crypto exchanges to be granted a Virtual Asset Service Provider Licence by VARA, and it further proves our company’s commitment to security and compliance,” said Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com.
“Dubai continues to show it is a leading market when designing effective regulation for the crypto space while still supporting adoption and innovation.
“We are excited to showcase more of our industry-leading products to customers across permissible jurisdictions from Dubai, and look forward to working with regulators contributing to this thriving ecosystem.”
A regulatory clearance in Dubai will strengthen the Crypto.com growth strategy, which it has set out through the course of the last several years, having already received regulatory approvals in the UK, Singapore, Spain, and the Netherlands.
Dubai has also opened itself to inviting crypto exchanges over the last several years in its attempts to grow and expand its fintech and cryptocurrency markets.
The Middle Eastern country granted regulatory clearance to Binance earlier this year and in its efforts to become a viable home for crypto companies, VARA was introduced in March 2022 to oversee crypto and digital asset regulations and map out clear regulatory guidelines for companies to abide by, as well as to receive licence to operate.
