Kraken secures ADGM licence to operate virtual asset exchange

Kraken, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has secured a regulatory licence from the Abu Dhabi Global Market to operate its virtual asset trading platform in the capital as cryptocurrency demand continues to rise globally.

Kraken will offer investors the ability to invest, trade, withdraw and deposit virtual assets such as Bitcoin and Ether directly in local currency, the ADGM said yesterday.

The US-based cryptocurrency exchange “has met all approval conditions from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the ADGM to operate as a virtual asset multilateral trading facility and custodian in Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE”, the financial free zone said.

The ADGM introduced the world’s first comprehensive virtual asset regulatory framework in 2018. It has since attracted several major companies dealing with cryptocurrencies to set up base in its regulated financial free zone.

In December, it granted regulatory permission to virtual asset trading platform Hayvn. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, also received in-principle approval from the ADGM to operate as a broker-dealer in virtual assets in the UAE capital.

The Middle East is one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency markets in the world, figures compiled by Chainalysis show.

The region received $271.7 billion worth of cryptocurrency between July 2020 and June 2021, a 1,500 per cent increase over the Middle East’s total activity during the previous year, it said in the report.

“The UAE is one of the most financially innovative jurisdictions in the world, with region-leading crypto participation rates by both consumer and professional investors,” said Curtis Ting, managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Kraken.

The Kraken group, founded in 2011, serves a client base of more than nine million across 60 countries. It is backed by investors such as Tribe Capital, SkyBridge, Hummingbird Ventures, Blockchain Capital and the Digital Currency Group.

The UAE is quickly emerging as a preferred destination for cryptocurrency exchanges. Last month, global cryptocurrency exchange FTX said it received a virtual asset licence to set up regulated trading and clearing services in Dubai.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, which has more than two million registered users, also received in-principle approval to conduct virtual asset operations in Dubai.

The digital economy contributes about 4.3 per cent to the UAE’s gross domestic product, which is equal to Dh100bn ($27.2bn), government figures show.