On Monday, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) announced that it had licensed crypto exchange Kraken to operate within the region and has set up a headquarters in the United Arab Emirates capital.
Kraken, which has over 8 million users globally, is the first virtual assets exchange in the UAE to receive a full financial license from the ADGM.
According to Dhaher bin Dhaher, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Registration Authority, the firm is anticipated to begin operating in the second or third quarter allowing clients to invest, trade, withdraw and deposit cryptocurrency and other virtual assets.
Kraken MENA (Middle East and North Africa) aims to provide access to virtual assets in dirhams, UAE’s currency.
ADGM first proposed a cryptocurrency regulation framework in 2018 and has become a global hub for the virtual asset community.
Dubai has also attracted cryptocurrency firms recently. In March, it administered its first law governing digital assets and created the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) to supervise the sector.
