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Binance eyes United Arab Emirates as ‘focal point’ for future operations

June 26, 2023No Comments


The United Arab Emirates is becoming the next big focus of attention for Binance in the wake of a series of enforcement actions in the United States against the cryptocurrency exchange.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Binance Dubai CEO Alex Chehade said that the United Arab Emirates is a top destination for cryptocurrency companies looking for a clear path forward, noting its friendly stance towards digital assets.

“Binance identified that the UAE's senior leadership wanted to establish the region as a focal point for Web3. They are trying to diversify away from fossil fuels and see [crypto] as a big driver to do it,” Chehade said.

Ultimately, the clear crypto regulations in the United Arab Emirates make the region attractive to exchanges like Binance, which is currently struggling with Regulatory legal disputes in the United States, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

“Binance is here [in the UAE] because they have given us the security that we can set up operations and build for the future”, he explained and added:

“You don't want to set up where the goal posts move. For large companies, you need predictability, planning and budgeting.”

Chehade noted that the UAE's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) is a key driving force behind the surge in crypto-related interest in the region.

“There is a clear framework for people and companies to engage in, whereas you don't see much of that elsewhere,” he said.

Beyond regulation, Chehade said that the influx of young people moving to the United Arab Emirates could see the region adopt cryptocurrency more quickly than other hubs for digital assets.

“The two key drivers are that a lot of expats are moving here from Europe and Asia, and the general demographic is also younger, and we know that younger people are more favorable-minded when it comes to virtual assets.”

"You don't see that much in other crypto centers."

Merkle Science CEO Mriganka Pattnaik also praised the regulatory landscape in the UAE, noting that VARA, as the world's first dedicated virtual asset regulator, provides very detailed compliance guidelines for companies working under its purview. .

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“There is more interaction with the private sector and regulators because it is a smaller, early-stage ecosystem,” Pattnaik told Cointelegraph. "It's also easier to hire teams in the United Arab Emirates or just build a team of 100 people, all of whom are not from the region."

On February 7, VARA launched his Comprehensive Market Product Regulations, including four mandatory, activity-specific rulebooks that set out the rules for virtual asset service providers operating in Dubai.

Binance received a minimum viable product preparatory license of VARA in September 2021.

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