- Due to the business-friendly and low-tax regulatory environment in Dubai, crypto exchanges like Binance have applied for permission to operate there.
- Jez Mohideen, CEO of Laser Digital, is hopeful about the opportunities that this approval will bring, stating that it will “allow us to connect institutions in the virtual asset space with suitable products.”
- This regulatory green light comes at a critical time. Dubai has recently started scrutinizing crypto license applications more closely following several significant events, including the collapse of FTX led by Sam Bankman-Fried.
Nomura Holdings, a Japan-based major financial services company, has become the company to obtain a license in Dubai after Binance.
Nomura Holdings Enters the Crypto Market in Dubai
Due to its business-friendly and low-tax regulatory environment, Dubai has led to crypto exchanges like Binance applying for permission to operate there. Bybit even relocated its office from Singapore to Dubai. Now, Dubai has granted a full cryptocurrency license to Laser Digital Middle East FZE, a subsidiary of Nomura Holdings Inc., a major financial services company.
Following this approval, Nomura’s Dubai-based digital asset subsidiary plans to start offering over-the-counter trading services and digital asset investment products for institutional investors in the coming months. This license, one of the first granted since Dubai revised its digital asset regulations, authorizes Laser Digital to locally provide virtual asset brokerage and investment management services.
Jez Mohideen, CEO of Laser Digital, is hopeful about the opportunities that this approval will bring, stating that it will “allow us to connect institutions in the virtual asset space with suitable products.” The company chose Dubai as an important location with a dedicated virtual asset regulator and a growing crypto market.
By betting on cryptocurrencies, Dubai can also take a pioneering position when Web3 – the next generation of the internet – becomes a reality. It has even made metaverse a foundation, as stated in its policies.
Important Times for Crypto in Dubai
This regulatory green light comes at a critical time. Dubai has recently started scrutinizing crypto license applications more closely following several significant events, including the collapse of FTX led by Sam Bankman-Fried. Despite these controversies and last year’s crypto downturn, financial institutions continue to develop services around digital assets.
For example, Societe Generale SA obtained France’s first crypto license last month, and asset manager BlackRock Inc. filed for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in mid-June. Additionally, Binance’s subsidiary became the first exchange to receive the Operational Minimum Viable Product license in Dubai.
