Crypto.com Wins Digital Asset License in Dubai

Crypto.com has been granted a license to operate specified virtual asset service activities in Dubai, the crypto exchange announced on Tuesday.

The license has been granted to its Dubai entity, CRO DAX Middle East FZE, which received a minimal viable product (MVP) preparatory approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in March.

Receiving a full license involves three stages: a provisional permit, a preparatory license and an operating license. Crypto.com is now in the third stage of the process, but the company will need to satisfy localization requirements and conditions to commence operations.

The exchange will then get operational approval to provide “exchange services, broker-dealer services, management and investment services, and lending and borrowing services.” The Singapore-based exchange completed its licensing process in Singapore in June and has had regulatory victories in the Netherlands, U.K., France and Brazil. However, it has also suffered workforce cuts and difficulty maintaining fiat on-ramps during the recent banking crisis.

Dubai mandated crypto firms to obtain authorization and relevant licenses to operate in Feb. 2023. Laser Digital, the digital asset asset subsidiary of financial services giant Nomura, recently received an operating permit.

“It is an incredible honour to be one of the first crypto exchanges to be granted a Virtual Asset Service Provider Licence by VARA, and it further proves our company’s commitment to security and compliance,” said Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com.