Binance obtains license to operate as virtual asset exchange in Dubai

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has obtained an Operational Minimum Viable Product license to operate virtual asset exchange services in Dubai, the company said today.

The license allows Binance FZE, the exchange’s Dubai subsidiary, to offer services in the country initially to institutional and qualified retail investors, Binance said in a statement.

The news follows Binance’s earlier efforts to obtain a provisional MVP license in March 2022 and a preparatory MVP license in September 2022. Eligible users in Dubai will now be able to access authorized services, “knowing they’re under investor protection and market assurance standards tailored specifically for the virtual asset sector,” the exchange said.

“We are honored to be the first exchange to be granted an operational Minimum Viable Product License by VARA,” Richard Teng, head of regional markets of Binance, said in the statement. “Our priority is to be able to operate this first fully regulated exchange in, and from Dubai, in a FATF-compliant ecosystem, setting the stage for global scalability with uncompromised user assurance.”

Legal, regulatory struggle

Even as Binance secures licenses in Dubai and a number of other jurisdictions, it faces mounting scrutiny other global markets. Last week, the exchange said it had withdrawn an application for a license from German financial regulator BaFin.

Earlier in July, Binance’s office in Australia was searched by local regulators as part of an ongoing probe into the cryptocurrency exchange, Bloomberg reported.

In the U.S., Binance currently finds itself in the crosshairs of multiple regulators, with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission first filing a lawsuit against it in March. The Securities and Exchange Commission also sued the exchange and Zhao last month for allegedly violating securities laws.