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The United Arab Emirates is becoming the next big destination for Binance after a lot of enforcement action in the United States against the cryptocurrency exchange.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Binance Dubai General Manager Alex Chehaid said that the UAE is a top destination for crypto companies looking for a clear path forward and noted their digital asset-friendly attitude.
“Binance determined that the top management of the UAE wanted to make the region the focal point for Web3. They are trying to diversify away from fossil fuels and consider [криптовалюту] a great incentive for this,” Chehade said.
Ultimately, the clear cryptocurrency regulations in the UAE make the region attractive to exchanges such as Binance, which is currently battling legal disputes with US regulators including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). )..
Binance is here [в ОАЭ]because we have been given the assurance that we can set up operations and build the future,” he explained, adding:
“You don’t want to establish where the goalposts move. For a big business, you need predictability, you need to plan and budget.”
Chehade noted that the UAE Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) is a key driver behind the surge in interest in cryptocurrencies in the region.
“There is a clear structure that people and companies can interact with while you just don’t see it elsewhere,” he said.
Regulation aside, Chehade said the influx of young people moving to the UAE could see the region adopt crypto faster than other digital asset centers.
Here is an interesting piece of statistics for you to consume, showing the UAE ranking 1st in cryptocurrency owners, globally, in % of population. https://t.co/XZveSPRbLw
— Binance MENA (@BinanceArabic) June 14, 2023
“Two key factors are that many expatriates are moving here from Europe and Asia, and the overall demographic is also younger – and we know that younger people have a more favorable mindset when it comes to virtual assets.”
“You won’t see this in other crypto hubs.”
Merkle Science CEO Mriganka Pattnaik also praised the UAE’s regulatory framework, noting that VARA, as the world’s first regulator dedicated to virtual assets, provides very detailed compliance guidance for firms operating in its field.
Related: Dubai VARA approves OKX ‘preparatory’ license as part of exchange expansion plans
“There’s more engagement with the private sector and regulators because it’s a smaller early-stage ecosystem,” Pattnaik told Cointelegraph. “Also, it’s easier to hire teams in the UAE or just build a team of 100 people, all of them from outside the region.”
On February 7th, VARA released its Regulations for Full Market Products, which include four binding, activity-specific sets of rules that set out the rules for virtual asset service providers operating in Dubai.
⚠️Dubai News
Dubai’s Vurtual Assets and Regulatory Authority issued the long-awaited Full Market Regulations for Vurtual Assets Services Providers (VASPs).
— Irina ₿. Heaver (@IrinaHeaver) February 7, 2023
On April 5, Binance received a minimum viable product (MVP) provisional license from VARA last September.
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