Nomura’s Laser Digital crypto broker takes the UAE by storm

Nomura’s Laser Digital crypto broker takes the UAE by storm

Nomura’s crypto broker, and crypto investment service provider, Laser Digital which recently received a full license from Dubai’s virtual asset regulatory authority, VARA has now received an in principle approval for a license from Abu  Dhabi’s ADGM ( Abu Dhabi Global Market).

As per the recent news from ADGM, Laser Digital was granted an in principle approval by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), with formal regulatory licensing subject to the fulfillment of a number of conditions. When all IPA conditions are fulfilled, Laser Digital will be granted the Financial Services Permission to provide broker-dealer services and asset/fund management services in relation to virtual assets and traditional assets.

Laser Digital was launched last autumn by Nomura and was co-founded by Steve Ashley, who previously led Nomura’s wholesale division, and Jez Mohideen, who was Nomura’s Chief Digital Officer and Co-Head of Global Markets EMEA. Headquartered in Switzerland, with offices in the UAE and the UK

Jez Mohideen leads Laser Digital’s UAE entity with Cameron Dickie as Head of Distribution.

Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief of Market Development at ADGM said, “We are delighted that Laser Digital has been granted an ‘In Principal Approval’ for their virtual asset management services. Laser is developing investment services in virtual assets that are both dynamic and transparent, and their investment offerings align well with ADGM and the FSRA’s international best practices and progressive regulatory ecosystem. We welcome them to our robust and vibrant financial community.”

Jez Mohideen, CEO of Laser Digital added,“We are very grateful to have the opportunity to set up operations in ADGM; their comprehensive and clear regulatory framework is creating a global hub for digital assets that we are delighted to be joining.”

Prior to this Laser Digital was granted a full crypto license that will allow it to offer virtual asset broker dealer and investment management services in the UAE from VARA in Dubai. At the time Laser Digital announced that  it planned to launch over-the-counter trading services and digital-asset investment products for institutional investors in coming months.

According to VARA website, Laser Digital has been awarded the full VARA license, issued to VASPs which satisfies all of the requirements as specified under the Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023. It allows a VASP to offer approved Virtual Asset services to retail customers as well as institutional customers and Qualified Investors.

Laser Digital, which is headquartered in Switzerland with officers in Dubai and London, said in a statement it had received the license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority, allowing it to offer crypto-related broker-dealer, management and investment services.

CoinBase, Circle, and Bittrex leaving USA and heading to the MENA region

CoinBase, Circle, and Bittrex leaving USA and heading to the MENA region

The exodus of Crypto and Blockchain startups from the United States seems to be intensifying and it looks like the MENA region, and UAE are the new preferred destinations for CoinBase, Circle and Bittrex. 

Tim Draper, Founder of DFJ VC tweeted recently that Silicon Valley startups are relocating to Middle East, Asia, and Europe.

He states, “CoinBase and Gemini are moving out of the US for regulatory reasons. Dubai, London and Singapore are eating into New York’s blockchain leadership. This exodus is not good for US jobs, economy, and homelessness.”

Additionally, in the last 24 hours CoinBase announced that its CEO and Co-Founder Brian Armstrong is currently in the UAE for a series of engagements with policymakers, regulators, partners, Web3 and crypto founders as well as clients.

Armstrong is delivering a keynote address at the inaugural Dubai Fintech Summit, under the patronage of His Royal Highness, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

As per CoinBase blog, “Crypto and Web3 serve as enormous opportunities for economic and technological diversification for the UAE, and the region has the potential to be a strategic hub for CoinBase, amplifying our efforts across the world.”

The blog adds, “It further serves as a particularly strategic bridge between Asia and Europe – two of our existing focus international regions to date.”

CoinBase reiterated that it is not only working with Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) regulators to further expand the licensing and availability for CoinBase International Exchange but is also engaging with Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), a dedicated regulator for virtual assets, as they put forward a comprehensive retail framework built on the principles of economic sustainability and cross-border financial security. 

CoinBase believes that their presence in the UAE will not only expand their global footprint but also help to bring 1 billion users to crypto.  

The blog adds that the MENA region is out to be a leader in the development of a web3 ecosystem, making it an attractive location to consider investing in. The vacuum created by other notable jurisdictions means that international counterparts, such as the UAE, are racing to fill the regulatory gap.

CoinBase is not the only US Company that is looking at the UAE. It also seems Circle is interested in the region as well. The Circle team were recently present in Dubai UAE at a dinner hosted by Miriam Kiwan, the partner of Raiven Capital.

Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle Internet Financial, during an interview with Bloomberg, blamed the shrunken value of the company’s stablecoin, USD Coin, on regulatory challenges in the United States and concerns about its banking system.

In addition in March 2023 the SEC sued crypto exchange Bittrex shortly after it announced it was leaving the US markets. Bittrex, announced it would no longer do business with U.S. citizens because “it’s just not economically viable for us to continue to operate in the current U.S. regulatory and economic environment.”

Stephen Stonberg, CEO of Bittrex Global crypto exchange  has stated that the UAE and Dubai are among the friendliest jurisdictions for the cryptocurrency industry. He added in a Bloomberg interview Dubai is likely to benefit from the expanding crypto market in the Middle East as local regulators increasingly accept blockchain related technologies.

Finally in a recent LinkedIn post by Ali Jamal, CEO of UAE based Cryptos Consultancy, a crypto and Blockchain licensing firm, he noted, “We at Cryptos Consultancy have been getting lots of queries from crypto and tradfi businesses about setting up Virtual Asset practices in Dubai. There is a real buzz around Dubai’s virtual assets ecosystem now that the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) regulations are out.”

So as crypto and Blockchain businesses flee the USA, the tightening regulations in the USA continue with The New York State Attorney General (NYAG) Office announcing last week that Attorney General Letitia James has proposed “landmark legislation to tighten regulations on the cryptocurrency industry to protect investors, consumers, and the broader economy.” The announcement stated, ” Attorney General James’ program bill, which proposes the strongest and most comprehensive set of regulations on cryptocurrency in the nation, would increase transparency, eliminate conflicts of interest, and impose commonsense measures to protect investors, consistent with regulations imposed on other financial services.” 

It seems that this is only the beginning and the MENA region with UAE and Bahrain at the helm will become the new crypto Silicon Valley. 

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Crypto Options Exchange seeks to enter UAE in Q3 2023

Crypto Options Exchange seeks to enter UAE in Q3 2023

As per an article in Bloomberg, Bitcoin and Ethereum options exchange Deribit, is setting to enter Dubai UAE in Q3 2023, as UAE regulators provide the regulatory environment that will allow them to operate in the country.

As per the report, the exchange plans to open a Dubai office staffed by a team of 10 people composed of both local hires and the company’s existing talent, Deribit Chief Legal, Compliance and Regulatory Officer David Dohmen told Bloomberg. The move could take place as soon as this summer.

The Panamanian exchange is also planning expansion into Brazil, the U.K. and Singapore, said Dohmen.

The total volume of bitcoin options on Deribit rose to $4.25 billion during the week of January 15th 2023, the highest since second week of November 2022.

That’s a 375% rise from the low of $895 million registered in the final week of December, according to data source provider Amberdata. Deribit is the world’s largest crypto options exchange, accounting for nearly 90% of the global trading volume and open interest.

The impressive recovery in volume has mainly been driven by an uptick in demand for call options or bullish bets offering protection against price rallies.

“The share of calls relative to put volume is currently at more than 66%, its highest level in over a year,” analysts at Kaiko Research said in a note to clients on Monday. “This is yet another indicator that sentiment has improved in January.”

The dollar value locked in the number of open options contracts, also known as open interest, has increased to $5.92 billion, the highest since Oct. 27. Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has rallied by nearly 40% this month.

Options are derivative contracts that offer the purchaser the right but not the obligation to buy or sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before a specific date. The call option gives the right to buy, while put options offer the right to sell.

Options are widely used by both institutions and individual investors and often provide an accurate picture of sentiment in the broader market.

Another crypto custodian gets licensed by Dubai’s VARA regulator

Another crypto custodian gets licensed by Dubai’s VARA regulator

Dubai’s regulator is currently pushing forth its crypto custodial licenses. Last week VARA ( Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority) provided Komainu DeFi, digital asset custodian with a provisionary license and today it has provided Hex Trust, fully licensed and insured provider of bank-grade custody and associated services for digital assets a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) license. 

The MVP license will allow Hex Trust to provide a wide range of virtual asset services to institutional clients and sophisticated investors] in Dubai within its framework for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The range of services Hex Trust can now provide includes Virtual Assets custodial services, Broker-Dealer Services and Staking Services. 

 Hex Trust opened its Dubai office in June 2022, which is run by Filippo Buzzi, and serves as its headquarters for the MENA region.

Filippo Buzzi, Regional Director MENA of Hex Trust, commented, “Becoming one of the first virtual asset companies and custodian to receive the license is a big step for Hex Trust as we establish ourselves in the MENA region. We recognize the enormous potential this region has to build one of the leading virtual asset hubs in the world. Hex Trust looks forward to expanding our client base in Dubai following the license approval and making a positive contribution to the VA ecosystem in the region. 

Alessio Quaglini, cofounder and CEO of Hex Trust, commented, “From day one, Hex Trust was built to follow the strictest compliance policies and adhere to regulatory standards across the main jurisdictions. Being amongst the first companies to be granted the MVP is exciting, given the enormous potential of the sector in Dubai.”

UAE VARA regulator suspends FTX Crypto Exchange license in a region that was its third biggest revenue base globally

UAE VARA regulator suspends FTX Crypto Exchange license in a region that was its third biggest revenue base globally

As the FTX debacle unfolds and FTX files for bankruptcy, CEO steps down, UAE VARA ( Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority) in Dubai has suspended FTX’s license. FTX MENA users brought in high revenues for FTX as it was considered as the third biggest revenue region for FTX. 

While the crypto markets are in turmoil across the globe, it will also have an effect on the MENA region. FTX MENA CEO Balsam Danhach told Reuters in a previous interview,  “Our license expands to retail customers as well, however, it will be a gradual scale up to ensure that we approach the retail market within the guidelines set by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.”

Danhach also told zawya in a recent interview that their operation in MENA region is the second to third region in terms of global revenue performance. At the time FTX had 6 million users with a trading volume of $12 billion per day.

He stated in his interview with Zawya, talking about MENA and the importance of their license in UAE, “We are not talking about a region contributing a small percentage to our revenues but a region which is among our top three in terms of revenues. Here there are higher volumes per user.”

While FTX officially launched in UAE on October 31st 2022, its CEO had commented that from July 2022 until October FTX was testing backend migration of their existing user base from MENA onto their FTX MENA platform. FTX was offering the same access to all the services offered globally through the local FTX page. He stated at the time, “We are working on trading in UAE dirhams and accessing local banks.”

FTX MENA replying to a post on LinkedIn stated that they had not actually commenced operations locally. ” FTX MENA would like to clarify that the announcement of receiving its MVP License indicates that we are only able to commence readiness measures. Rigorous pre-conditions set by VARA have to be met by FTX MENA before undertaking any active market operations in the UAE. FTX MENA confirms that we are still in the readiness preparation phase and have hence not onboarded any clients nor engaged in any active operations locally as we have not received VARA approval to do so.” 

FTX Exchange, was the first Virtual Asset Service Provider (#VASP) to receive the MVP license to operate its virtual asset (VA) exchange and clearing house services from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).

Given the comments made by FTX MENA CEO,  it seems that there will be an effect on a number of crypto traders in the region. What could be worrisome is how will this play into the crypto growth in the region, and UAE’s stance on crypto and crypto regulation.

Morocco’s crypto bill will be out soon

Morocco’s crypto bill will be out soon

The Central Bank of Morocco, Bank Al Maghrib, announced during its second quarterly in June 2022 that it will be introducing a cryptocurrency bill soon. Abdul Latif Al Jawhari, Governor of Central Bank of Morocco noted that the crypto CBDC committee created in February 2022 is putting in place an appropriate regulatory framework to combine innovation, tech and consumer protection.

He also noted that the crypto bill is being benchmarked against global experiences with IMF and World Bank. He also noted that this regulatory framework will also update the legislation on the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

In March 2022, during a session with media He revealed that the Central Bank of Morocco had created a council headed by him to oversee the required regulations for both cryptocurrencies and CBDCs. He stated, “We are in discussions with the Central Banks of friendly nations such as Switzerland, Sweden, and France as well as international financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank to learn from their expertise and experience.”

Despite the fact that the Moroccan government considers crypto illegal in the country, Morocco has the highest number of crypto owners within the Arab region, followed closely by Egypt. 2.38 percent of Moroccan population own crypto.

UAE Minister of AI and Digital Economy looks at converging Metaverse, Blockchain, and AI

UAE Minister of AI and Digital Economy looks at converging Metaverse, Blockchain, and AI

During the World Economic Forum in Davos, CoinDesk carried out an interview with UAE Minister Omar Sultan AlOlama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work.

Some big takeaways from his interview that I found interesting were the following. First he noted that he was pleased to see more and more governments embracing crypto and finding use cases for it. He also noted that Blockchain had become more popular and as he stated, “This is good for everyone because you can build a more trust based society that will take us into Web3.0”

He also made a comment that while most governments just talk about AI (Artificial Intelligence), the UAE is actually walking the talk. He states, “The UAE is taking a proactive role to regulate and deploy AI in environments and is working to attract AI startups.” He believes given the diversity in UAE demographics AI systems developed in UAE will be less biased towards specific ethnicities, genders, etc.. He also states that the UAE with its cutting edge infrastructure and its diverse economic sectors has a volume of data that could create a globally first AI Company from UAE.

According to Olama, the digital economics will be enabled by AI and Blockchain.

When asked if UAE was seeking to become a crypto hub, he stated that it was already a crypto hub in the region and one of the few leading crypto hubs globally. He noted, “ We need to do what people want and for some reasons people have chosen to embark on a crypto journey, some have invested their life savings in crypto. Today crypto is high risk but eventually it will mature, so as governments we either take a back seat or we become leaders. We need to ensure there is no money laundering, no pump and dump trading schemes. Yet given that this market is nascent there will be mistakes and we need to inform public as much as possible to the risks, ensure no illegal activity is happening.”

Olama believes that the biggest aim is to attract crypto talent which is among the best globally because they are building and securing Web3, building metaverse, payment gateways, and other solutions. UAE wants to enable them and create the right environment for them. He notes how both Polygon Blockchain and Binance crypto exchange have relocated to UAE.

He believes that the regulatory environment in UAE, is one where the regulator views companies and entities as innocent until proven guilty, ensuring the right checks and balances while being agile and nimble.

In his final remark, he notes that at Davos, ” I am  interested in seeing how the metaverse converges with Blockchain and AI and how this will look and use that to launch the right strategies and programs back in the UAE.”

Qatar opens its doors to CoinMENA Crypto exchange as a regulated exchange

Qatar opens its doors to CoinMENA Crypto exchange as a regulated exchange

CoinMENA Chief Operating Officer Dina Semaan announced today on twitter that CoinMENA crypto exchange is now serving clients in Qatar. This would be the first crypto exchange to officially announce that it is serving clients in Qatar. As per her tweet, “Starting from today, CoinMENA services are now being offered in Qatar, making us the first regulated crypto exchange to be offering services in Qatar.” She adds with this expansion we now offer CoinMENA services in six Arab countries, and we continue to achieve our goals of offering the simplest and easiest method for trading crypto.” This comes after Qatar’s FIFA 2022 took on sponsors such as Crypto.com, one of the international crypto exchanges globally. It also comes after FIFA signed up AlGorand Blockchain as a sponsor and partner for their digitization plans in the sports and entertainment sector. CoinMENA was first regulated in Bahrain, and then sought regulation in UAE, and offers its services in KSA, Kuwait, Oman, and now Qatar as a regulated entity. In the press release CoinMENA confirms that it has become the first regional digital assets exchange to offer its services in Qatar, meaning that users across the Gulf state can now easily and safely invest in cryptocurrencies for the first time. Qatari citizens and residents can open accounts with CoinMENA and have access to all the features the platform has to offer, including connecting their bank accounts to their CoinMENA wallets, enabling them to deposit and withdraw funds directly and safely within minutes. Commenting in a joint statement, CoinMENA Co-Founders Dina Sam’an and Talal Tabbaa said: “We are delighted to become the first crypto exchange to offer our services in Qatar. Investors have been asking about our plans to enter the country for some time now, so this news represents a major milestone on our long-term geographic market expansion plans.” The Bahrain-headquartered firm recently became the first onshore licensed crypto exchange to introduce limit trading, enabling the CoinMENA users to set the price at which they wish to buy and sell crypto. Users in Qatar will also be able to utilize the recently added features including withdrawing USDT via the TRON network for lower fees, and earning bonus rewards when they invite their friends through CoinMENA’s referral program. “CoinMENA’s entry into Qatar is a huge step on our journey to becoming the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s preferred crypto financial services company,” said Sam’an. “Our team is constantly striving to onboard new countries and introduces new features to a wider audience.” “We are immensely proud of everything we have achieved during our first year of operations,” Tabbaa added. “However, we still have a lot to achieve, which is why we will continue to work tirelessly to deliver the best possible experience for our ever-expanding user base.”