Kraken which is one of the world’s largest crypto exchange exchanges announced today that they have obtained approval to operate in Abu Dhabi. This marks the rapid expansion of the crypto market in the Middle East region.
The move was announced by the Abu Dhabi market registration authority. The exchange was among the first to receive a license to operate regulated digital asset exchanges from the Abu Dhabi Global Markets Financial Center, the regulator said.
The announcement was made amid growing efforts by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to become a crypto city. Abu Dhabi in 2018 passed a crypto -friendly rule, this has attracted many among the major players of the crypto market to also participate.
According to market regulators, Kraken has set up its Middle East headquarters in Abu Dhabi where it has more than 9 million users worldwide. The exchange is expected to allow investors to trade crypto directly in the UAE.
Curtis Ting, managing director of EMEA at Kraken praised the UAE for having crypto-friendly laws and stated the exchange plans to further expand markets in the Middle East and North African regions in the future.
Kraken's achievements are seen to have surpassed the world's largest Crypto Exchange, Binance where Binance only holds a principle license to operate in Abu Dhabi.
However, it should be noted that both the Binance and Kraken exchange exchanges have recently obtained licenses to operate in Dubai, another crypto hub in the UAE. Dubai is also among the major cities that have passed crypto-friendly laws to attract more investment.
The UAE so far ranks third in integrating crypto in the Middle East, lagging behind Turkey and Lebanon based on the 2021 report
by Analytics Firm Blockchain Chainalysis.
