US-based cryptocurrency exchange platform Kraken has announced expansion plans into the Middle East region and will be starting with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The exchange which has acquired a full operational license to operate as a regulated trading platform in the UAE will open its regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi.
According to Curtis Ting, the crypto exchange’s Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, “We’re incredibly excited to be able to set up our operations right in the ADGM [Abu Dhabi Global Market] itself to operate a virtual asset platform that finally offers Dirham pairs for investors in the region.”
Following the acquisition of its license and approval to operate in the UAE from the ADGM and Financial Services Regulatory Authority, and after its regional office has been set up, Kraken will be the first cryptocurrency exchange platform to offer direct funding and trading in the UAE’S currency – dirham, in exchange for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc. “For us, it’s really important to facilitate access to global markets and global liquidity by making sure that investors and traders in the region have access to local currencies,” Curtis Ting said.
Kraken which was founded in 2011 is operational in more than 60 countries. According to the exchange, the UAE is an increasingly lucrative region and it only makes sense to want to leverage this budding opportunity. Per Chainalysis, the UAE makes up about 7 percent of the global trading volumes. Kraken has sure seen a lot of potential in the region!
Information from Chainalysis also shows that cryptocurrency transactions in the UAE run into about $25 billion on an annual basis, ranking below Lebanon and Turkey with cryptocurrency transactions worth about $26 billion and $132.4 billion respectively.
According to Ronit Ghose, the Global Head of Fintech and Digital at Citi, “One of the reasons we see an influx of entrepreneurs, builders, operators and developers coming into Abu Dhabi and Dubai … is because there is a sense of greater regulatory clarity at ADGM, in Dubai, and at a federal level. It’s frankly amazing some of the talents the UAE has attracted in the last 12 to 24 months during COVID. Is it really beginning to establish itself as both a crypto hub and a Web3 hub?”
About two weeks ago, Binance received its approval to operate digital assets from Abu Dhabi regulators. The exchange platform which has been looking to strengthen its presence in the Middle East was given approval “in principle” by Abu Dhabi regulators to operate as a broker-dealer in digital assets.
Ibhadojemu Lucky Emmanuel is a graduate of Education and Economics from the University of Benin. He has a passion for tech and business and has been writing professionally for over a period of five years. He's written across various topics and segments and knew tech-business was it when he first stumbled on it. He has a great passion for music and arts, and wants to visit as many countries as he can someday.
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