The world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange has been given the green light to begin operating in a Middle Eastern country.
Binance, which has daily trading volumes in the billions, has been given approval by Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to operate its platform under a three-pronged exchange, clearing, and brokerage framework.
With Binance consistently enjoying high volumes of both traffic and trade, it is the number one site for most global trading activity. Its scale and liquidity also shape how Bitcoin circulates across different online environments, and that influence is often most visible in areas that rely on fast, borderless payments, such as online casino Bitcoin activity. Despite that, though, the exchange has never entirely settled down during the 10 years or so it has been established, but now it looks as if the United Arab Emirates could be its full-time home.
Under the regulations laid down by the FSRA, Binance will perform trading, custody, and settlement activities.
The company’s CEO, Richard Tang, said he was proud of how his exchange had been able to do the deal, suggesting that the move would help Binance deal with more trades and help more customers.
How Binance Will Operate In Abu Dhabi
In a statement, Binance said that Abu Dhabi’s Global Market center (ADGM) was well-known for having strong supervisory and regulatory oversight, and operating there would make it more credible in the eyes of the wider financial world and would give its customers more reassurance and protection.
Meanwhile, Tang added: “Achieving regulatory status through ADGM’s respected framework reflects our deep commitment to compliance, transparency, and user protection. ADGM is one of the most respected financial regulators globally, and holding an FSRA license under their gold standard framework shows that Binance meets the highest international standards for compliance, governance, risk management, and consumer protection.”
Binance will now operate in the Emirati capital as, in effect, three separate companies, all carrying the Nest branding. Nest Exchange will carry a license for spot and derivatives trading, while Nest Clearing and Custody has the required approval to carry out custody and clearing functions, and Nest Trading will deal with over-the-counter and off-exchange deals. This three-way split will allow each of the company’s offshoots to be regulated separately by the region’s authorities.
Binance On The Move?
The exchange has, however, remained tight-lipped about whether or not the move could represent a permanent location for the multi-billion-dollar business.
Although it was initially based in Hong Kong when it was set up by its now-disgraced founder Changpeng Zhao in 2017, it has been somewhat peripatetic since China banned cryptocurrency trading the following year.
Teng and his colleagues may remain somewhat tight-lipped about whether or not Binance’s main headquarters will be in Abu Dhabi, but with Teng having made clear that he is very keen on making sure the company complies with regulations, Binance looks closer to having a permanent home than it has in a long time.
