Binance will run its core platform through three Abu Dhabi Global Market-licensed entities from early 2026, giving the FSRA end-to-end oversight of its exchange, clearing and brokerage operations.
Binance has secured full regulatory authorisation from Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to operate its global platform under the emirate’s virtual asset framework, in a move that will see Binance.com effectively run out of the UAE capital from 2026.
The exchange, which has spent the last two years reshaping its compliance posture after a multibillion-dollar settlement with US authorities, described the approval as a major step in its efforts to become a “trusted and transparent” digital asset venue.
Subject to final preparations, its ADGM-regulated activities are expected to go live on January 5, 2026 when Binance’s services will be provided via three ADGM-licensed entities with distinct roles: Nest Exchange Services Limited, Nest Clearing and Custody Limited, and Nest Trading Limited.
Nest Exchange Services has been approved as a Recognised Investment Exchange, responsible for all on-exchange spot and derivatives trading. Nest Clearing and Custody will operate as a Recognised Clearing House with added custody and securities depository permissions, handling clearing, settlement and the safeguarding of user digital assets.
Nest Trading will also act as a broker-dealer, managing off-exchange services such as OTC trading and principal-based activities.
The model closely resembles traditional market infrastructure, separating exchange, clearing and brokerage functions that have often been bundled together in crypto. For the FSRA, that structure provides clearer lines of responsibility around market integrity, client asset protection and prudential supervision.
For existing users, Binance says the transition will be largely invisible. Logins, balances, open positions and order history will be carried over, with updated terms of use and privacy notices taking effect from January 5. Continued use of the platform will constitute acceptance of the new contractual arrangements, under which different Nest entities sit as the legal counterparty depending on the product used.
ADGM doubles down on virtual asset ambitions
The approval underlines Abu Dhabi’s strategy of positioning ADGM as a tightly regulated hub for digital assets, sitting alongside Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in the UAE’s two-track approach to crypto supervision.
ADGM’s virtual asset regime, updated through detailed guidance in late 2023, treats crypto businesses as full financial institutions, subject to capital, conduct, market abuse, custody and AML requirements similar to those applied to securities firms. The FSRA has also recently granted permissions to institutional-focused players such as GFO-X and several OTC and prime brokerage firms, part of a broader push to attract global trading and market infrastructure to Al Maryah Island.
For Abu Dhabi, Binance’s decision to anchor its global platform in ADGM is a flagship win that follows a reported $2bn strategic investment from local vehicle MGX earlier this year. That deal, paid in stablecoins, highlighted how closely the exchange’s future is now tied to the UAE’s ambition to build a diversified, fintech-led economy.
Regulatory reset after US settlement
The move also marks another step in Binance’s attempt to draw a line under its past regulatory troubles. In November 2023 the company reached a sweeping settlement with US authorities, agreeing to pay around $4.3bn and admitting to historic AML and sanctions failings. Founder Changpeng Zhao stepped down as CEO as part of the deal and later served a short custodial sentence.
Since then, Binance has exited or scaled back operations in several markets while pursuing more formal licences elsewhere. Richard Teng, a former Abu Dhabi regulator himself, took over as CEO, and last week the group named co-founder Yi He as co-chief executive in a bid to cement a new governance structure.
Against that backdrop, full-scope FSRA authorisation gives Binance a rare piece of regulatory clarity. The licence package positions ADGM as the primary prudential supervisor for Binance.com’s core activities, even as the exchange continues to navigate ongoing scrutiny in Europe, the US and parts of Asia.
