The cryptocurrency exchange FTX’s Dubai subsidiary FTX FZE announces gaining a full Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). FTX FZE now officially enters the ‘Most Viable Product’ (MVP) Virtual Assets program as the first in Dubai.
The exchange with its global HQ in The Bahamas shall operate as a Virtual Asset (VA) Exchange and a Clearing House in Dubai. Its VA exchange would now start to offer ‘regulated crypto derivatives products, and trading services to Qualified Institutional Investors’ in Dubai.
FTX FZE will also ‘operate an NFT Marketplace,’ and offer ‘Custodial Services,’ as it operates from the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority building.
FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, says, “The approval for FTX to receive the first MVP VASP licence from Dubai’s prudential supervision regime to fully operate our exchange is a tremendous honor and landmark achievement for our team. Our mission is to lead the way in growing the digital asset industry in countries and jurisdictions that possess a robust digital asset framework.”
With VARA’s letter of approval, FTX FZE will operate under regulatory oversight and mandatory FATF compliance controls.
H.E. Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre Authority, says, “The MVP Phase, exclusive to select, responsible international players like FTX, will allow VARA to prudently structure guidelines and risk mitigation levers for secure commercial operations. We look forward to FTX’s active participation in this next stage of collaborative global VA innovation.”
Per reports, FTX is planning to set up a regional HQ in Dubai, serving the UAE’s mission-led virtual asset sector. The Crypto Times earlier reported FTX’s Europe arm becoming the first crypto exchange to get a provisional license in Dubai.
Under that license, FTX began to ‘trial complex crypto derivatives dedicated to professional institutional investors in the UAE.’
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