FTX Plans Regional HQ in Dubai After Acquiring License

Major cryptocurrency exchange FTX has announced that it has been licensed to establish and operate its Virtual Asset (VA) Exchange and Clearing House services in Dubai. FTX’s newly launched European and Middle East division has become the first digital asset exchange to obtain a license in Dubai to launch a specialized crypto derivatives platform. The exchange will offer “complex crypto-derivatives products with centralized counterparty clearing to the institutional market,” FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) said in a statement. “FTX is proud to be the first licensee under Dubai’s prudential supervision regime. It’s an honor to be one of the first approved applicants in such a specialised category and we are excited to be able to introduce complex crypto-derivatives products with centralised counterparty clearing to institutional markets,” SBF added. Really excited to receive the first (and so far only) digial asset exchange license from Dubai! Adding to the list: https://t.co/50ELyIX1cd https://t.co/1jEkTz52qS — SBF (@SBF_FTX) March 15, 2022 In January, FTX touched a $32 billion valuation after raising $400 million in a Series C round. According to data from Chainalysis, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the third-largest crypto market in the Middle East, just after Turkey and Lebanon. Lately, UAE has been working towards establishing itself as a hub for digital assets with Dubai’s ruler announcing last week the cre...