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Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates — U.S. crypto exchange Kraken is expanding into the Middle East and will open its regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi after obtaining a full license to operate a UAE-regulated trading platform. ..
“I am very excited to be able to start a business with ADGM. [Abu Dhabi Global Market] Curtistin, managing director of Europe, the Middle East and Africa in Kraken, told CNBC’s Dan Murphy.
Kraken will provide direct funding and transactions in UAE Dilham for Bitcoin, Ether and various other cryptocurrencies after regulatory approval for a local launch from ADGM and financial services regulators. It will be the first cryptocurrency exchange.
“It is very important for us to promote access to global markets and global liquidity by giving investors and traders in the region access to local currencies,” said Tin. I am.
Launched in 2011 and operating in more than 60 countries, Kraken said the UAE’s launch represents a broader commitment to increasingly profitable regions. The Middle East is one of the fastest growing cryptocurrency markets in the world, 7% of global trading volumeAccording to Chainalysis.
The UAE trades about $ 25 billion worth of cryptocurrencies each year. According to chain analysis data surveyed between July 2020 and June 2021, it ranks third in the region’s volume after Lebanon (about $ 26 billion) and Turkey ($ 132.4 billion). ..
“One of the reasons for the influx of entrepreneurs, builders, operators and developers into Abu Dhabi and Dubai is the clearer regulation at the ADGM, Dubai, and federal levels,” said Ronit Ghose. ..Citi’s Global Head of Banking Research told CNBC’s “Capital Connection” On thursday.
“Some of the talents the UAE has attracted in the COVID over the last 12-24 months are frankly amazing,” Ghose said. “It really is a crypto hub Web3 hub.. ”
More competition
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume, is also considering increasing its presence in the Middle East, where cryptocurrency trading is becoming more and more mainstream.
Binance Given the approval of operation We are looking for more than 100 positions in Abu Dhabi for the past few weeks.Fellow Exchange Bybit has also been approved Headquarters opened in Dubai Last month, FTX also obtained a virtual asset license in Dubai and will soon establish a regional headquarters.
Rival financial centers in Singapore and Hong Kong also want to create a fully regulated environment for cryptocurrency trading. Deepen the regulatory mechanism To attract investment and transaction volume in an increasingly competitive situation.
“Gray list”
But Emirates may have beaten some of the world’s largest crypto companies, but it’s also coming down Increased international scrutiny Not doing enough to crack down on the so-called dirty money flow.According to a recent report, UAE cryptocurrency companies Flooded with requests Liquidate billions of dollars of cryptocurrencies as Russians seek a safe haven for their property, including within Dubai real estate marketIn the war in Ukraine.
Last month, the Financial Activities Task Force, the world’s leading money laundering prevention watchdog, also put the UAE on top of it. Country “gray list” Additional monitoring is required. The United Arab Emirates has joined Syria, Turkey and Panama on the list of countries that need to address the threat of money laundering, according to the FATF.
“It’s important for us to pay attention to KYC (Know Your Customer) and other important compliance issues from AML (Prevention of Money Laundering),” Ting told CNBC.
“I think we need to rely on the controls enforced by regulatory agencies to give consumers access to public and cryptocurrency-providing platforms.”
