Binance eyes UAE as ‘focus point’ for future operations

The United Arab Emirates is becoming the next big focus for Binance in the wake of several enforcement actions in the United States against crypto exchanges.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Alex Chehade, General Manager of Binance Dubai, said that the UAE is a prime destination for crypto businesses looking for a clear path forward and noted its favorable attitude towards digital assets.

“Binance recognizes that the UAE’s senior leadership wants to position the region as a focal point of Web3. They are trying to diversify away from fossil fuels and they see (crypto) as a great driver to do that,” Chehade said

Ultimately, the clear crypto regulations in the UAE make the region attractive to exchanges such as Binance, which is currently battling legal disputes with regulators in the US, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

“Binance is here (in the UAE) because we have been guaranteed that we can set up operations and build for the future,” he explained, adding:

“You don’t want to set up where the goalposts move. For large businesses, you need predictability, you need to plan and you need to budget.

Chehade noted the UAE’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) as a major driving force behind the rise in crypto-related interest in the sector.

“There’s a clear framework for connecting with people and businesses, which you don’t see anywhere else,” he said.

Beyond regulation, Chehade said that the influx of young people moving to the UAE could see the region adopt crypto more quickly than other digital asset hubs.

Here is an interesting piece of statistics for your perusal, which shows the United Arab Emirates as the 1st ranked crypto owner globally in % of the population. https://t.co/XZveSPRbLw

– Binance MENA (@BinanceArabic) 14 June 2023

“The two key drivers are that a lot of expatriates are coming here from Europe and Asia, and the overall demographic is also young – and we know that young people have a more adaptive mindset when it comes to virtual assets.”

“You don’t see that much in other crypto hubs.”

Mriganka Patnaik, CEO of Merkle Science, also praised the regulatory landscape in the UAE, noting that VARA, as the world’s first virtual asset-specific regulator, provides very detailed compliance guidelines for firms operating within its purview. does.

Connected: Dubai’s VARA approves OKX ‘initial’ license as part of exchange’s expansion plans

“There is more interaction with the private sector and regulators because it is a smaller, early-stage ecosystem,” Patnaik told Cointelegraph. “It is also easy to hire teams in the UAE or just form a team of 100 people, not all of whom come from the region.”

On 7 February, VARA released its full Market Products Regulations, which consist of four mandatory, activity-specific rulebooks that set rules for virtual asset service providers operating in Dubai.

⚠️Dubai News

Dubai’s Virtual Assets and Regulatory Authority released the long-awaited full market regulations for Virtual Assets Services Providers (VASPs).

– Irina ₿. Heaver (@IrinaHeaver) 7 February 2023

Binance receives an initial minimum viable product license from VARA in September 2021.

The Magazine: Crypto City Guide to Sydney: Much more than just a ‘token’ bridge