Crypto businesses looking to expand all over the world often face the challenge of needing to secure approval from various regulators to get started. As we’ve seen in the past, this is not always the most straightforward process and can come with a horde of challenges. Thankfully for OKX Middle East Fintech FZE, the Middle Eastern subsidiary of OKX, it will be able to begin its operations in the UAE. This comes as the company has secured a license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).

OKX to Begin Operations in the Middle East

This news was announced on January 16, 2024, and with it, the company can begin offering spot services and spot pairs to both institutional and qualified retail customers. According to OKX, it will begin operations within the next few weeks and these services can be accessed from both its main exchange and its app. The company’s management has also made it clear that it will be ambitious in pursuing the UAE market. “This allows us to offer services to UAE residents, which we’re going after, including spot trading and fiat-related services, which means deposits and withdrawals of local currency, United Arab Emirates dirham (AED),” said Rifad Mahasneh, OKX General Manager for the MENA Region.

Some of the trading pairs that UAE residents will have access to include AED/BTC and AED/ETH. It is quite fitting that OKX is targeting the UAE market considering just how accepting it has been of cryptocurrency in the past. Back in 2016, the country launched a blockchain strategy, making it one of the first in the world to do so. This was followed up with a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency in 2018 which, again, preceded the rest of the world. Historically, the UAE has been a hub for tech development and entrepreneurship and its population has seemed very open to new innovations. Even now, the UAE has the highest public adoption of cryptocurrency, which means that digital assets are well-known to the public.

With this sort of foundation, companies like OKX have a viable environment to engage in crypto businesses, as well as the support of the government.  In 2022, the UAE formed the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), which granted the license to OKX. The aim of VARA is to develop regulations that help the crypto sector grow and position the UAE as a global leader in the cryptocurrency industry while still protecting the consumer. Around the world, we have seen countless examples of countries being indifferent, nonchalant and outright hostile to the crypto industry. Fortunately, it seems to not be the case with the UAE, to the benefit of all involved.