Binance Secures Full Virtual-Asset Services Provider License in Dubai

• Binance has been awarded a full crypto services license in Dubai by VARA.

• This license upgrades its existing minimum viable product license awarded in mid-2023.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, said it has been awarded a full virtual-asset services provider (VASP) license by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) almost a year after entering the third stage of the emirate’s four-stage process.

“As we secure the esteemed full market VASP Licence, it notably amplifies our unwavering commitment to advancing the financial landscape through compliance and innovation,” CEO Richard Teng said in a statement. “This achievement embodies our dedication to transparency, regulatory compliance, and responsible growth in the dynamic digital assets domain.”

Binance’s local unit, Binance FZE, obtained an Operational MVP license in mid-2023, a VARA filing shows. That allowed it to serve institutional investors and qualified investors while engaging in broker-dealer services and exchange services including virtual-asset derivatives trading.

The full VASP license “underlines Dubai’s position as a forward-thinking city – acknowledging and embracing the financial potential that blockchain technology brings,” Binance FZE General Manager Alex Chehade said in a statement.

One condition of the license was for Binance’s co-founder and former CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, to give up voting control with the local unit, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. CZ is in the U.S. awaiting sentencing after settling charges with the Department of Justice in November. He is expected to be sentenced on April 30.

Neither Binance nor VARA had responded to a request for comment about these conditions by publication time.