Crypto exchange Binance gains regulatory win in Abu Dhabi
The crypto exchange has yet to decide on a location for its global headquarters
[ABU DHABI] Binance Holdings has won three separate licenses from Abu Dhabi’s financial regulator, giving the crypto exchange giant one of its most comprehensive regulatory footholds yet.
The approvals, issued during Abu Dhabi Finance Week, cover Binance’s regulated exchange, clearing infrastructure and broker-dealer arm. Together, they permit the firm to run a trading venue, handle custody and settlement and offer off-exchange services from Abu Dhabi.
Binance has close ties to Abu Dhabi after the crypto exchange landed a US$2 billion investment in March from AI investor MGX, which is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The crypto exchange has yet to decide on a location for its global headquarters, but co-CEO Richard Teng said during last year’s finance week that the UAE is an attractive option. Teng was previously an executive at ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s international financial free zone.
Abu Dhabi, which sits atop of US$2 trillion sovereign wealth fortune, is a keen investor in crypto and digital currencies. The Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) more than tripled the size of its position in a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) during the third quarter, shortly before the bull market in cryptocurrencies gave way to a selloff.
The ADIC, an independently-run unit of sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment, increased its holding in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF to almost eight million shares as at Sep 30, according to a regulatory filing. The position, disclosed by a subsidiary, was worth about US$518 million at the time.
Binance founder Zhao Changpeng stepped down as CEO in 2023 after pleading guilty to breaking US anti-money laundering laws, with the exchange agreeing to pay over US$4.3 billion to resolve a years-long US investigation. Zhao was pardoned by US President Donald Trump in October this year. BLOOMBERG
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