In just 24 hours several crypto exchanges licensed in the UAE have been promoting new offerings and campaigns targeting professional and institutional traders. OKX, Binance, GCEX and Deribit all have come out with announcements on new service offerings for institutional players, and all these crypto exchanges have licenses in the UAE.

OKX, a leading cryptocurrency exchange and global on chain technology company, announced the launch of its ‘Trade Like a Pro’ brand campaign. The campaign celebrates “A New Alternative for the UAE,” marking OKX’s recent milestone of becoming operationally live and licensed in the region as of October 10, 2024.

It is tailored specifically for UAE audiences and presented in both Arabic and English, the campaign provides a unique opportunity for local traders to learn strategies from professional traders in their market and understand why they chose OKX as their preferred trading platform. OKX is the first global crypto company in the UAE to offer AED banking rails for its retail and institutional customers and this campaign further underscores its commitment to the UAE and dedication to fostering the growth of the crypto and Web3 ecosystem in the region.

To celebrate the launch of this campaign in the UAE, OKX is offering eligible customers the chance to receive up to 100 USDT by reaching set trading volumes across spot and futures. Additionally, customers can earn 10 USDT by depositing 50 USDT into their accounts, plus an extra 50 USDT for sharing the campaign on their social media platforms. For more details about the ‘Trade Like a Pro with OKX’ campaign, running from October 29 to November 30, click here.

Even Binance has announced Binance Wealth, a technological solution for wealth managers. As per Binance, Binance Wealth allows wealth managers to oversee the onboarding of their clients and make investment recommendations, allowing their clients to receive strong support during onboarding and thereafter while retaining full discretionary control, akin to traditional wealth management.

Wealth managers must first apply to access Binance Wealth. After being successfully onboarded, they can then help support their clients’ onboarding journey by submitting the necessary KYC/KYB documentation for verification. Onboarded clients can then manage their own investments directly as well as receive recommendations from their

Catherine Chen, Head of Binance VIP & Institutional shared, “As investors worldwide recognize the potential of digital assets, we are responding to wealth managers and their clients asking for a solution to more easily access crypto. Unlocking capital inflow is key to making digital assets mainstream but there has long been a lack of traditional infrastructure for the private wealth segment to gain exposure to crypto. Binance Wealth will reduce the entry barrier for more market participants to access this new asset class and help bridge crypto and traditional finance.”

While GCEX Group, digital asset and foreign exchange solutions, has partnered with RULEMATCH, a leading market operator, to offer its institutional clients access to one of the world’s fastest trading venues for cryptocurrencies.

RULEMATCH is a spot crypto trading venue based in Switzerland, built on institutional grade technology. In addition to unparalleled execution speeds, it offers access to competitive and consistent liquidity from regulated market makers, capital efficient post-trade settlement, and stringent AML/CFT controls.

This latest development from GCEX enables its client base of hedge funds, algorithmic trading firms, brokers and ETF/ETP providers to benefit from binding quotes in an anonymous Central-Limit Order Book (CLOB) and execution times of 25 microseconds. To ensure capital efficiency and minimise settlement risks, multilateral clearing and settlement are fully integrated and handled via GCEX acting as Prime Broker Sponsor.

Lars Holst, CEO, GCEX said, “We are continually looking to push boundaries and extend our offering. Our partnership with RULEMATCH presents a fantastic opportunity for our clients. RULEMATCH is built on state-of-the-art institutional grade technology that offers ultra-low latency trading of cryptocurrencies, with ultra-competitive fees and consistent execution latency down to 25 microseconds. Their offering is very impressive and we share the same ethos in terms of market integrity and professionalism.”

Finally Deribit, a digital assets derivatives exchange, launched its support for hybrid custody solutions that allow for quicker onboarding of third-party custodians and brokerages for capital markets traders. At launch, custody firms set to utilize the hybrid model include Fidelity Digital Assets®, Copper Securities, and Zodia, with others set to be onboarded later this year.

Deribit’s current third-party custodians are fully integrated with the exchange, allowing traders to leverage all of Deribit’s trading capabilities via an API without the funds ever needing to leave their account. However, these integrations take time, making it harder for institutional traders to access the exchange and giving them fewer options for how to secure collateral. The hybrid custody model solves this problem as custodians are able to offer Deribit as a trading venue without needing full integration, giving traders using Fidelity Digital Assets® and others faster access to the Deribit trading platform.

Deribit CEO Luuk Strijers commented on the news, “At Deribit, we are committed to continually innovating and meeting the evolving needs of our institutional members and make it easier for all to access crypto derivatives markets. Throughout 2024, we have continued to focus on our institutional clients to create a fulsome trading experience in the broader finance ecosystem. Supporting a hybrid custody model marks a significant step forward, providing enhanced flexibility for accessing Deribit’s world-class digital asset derivatives trading offerings. By allowing for a hybrid model with these external custody solutions, we empower our clients while maintaining the seamless trading experience Deribit is known for.”

In a hybrid model, Deribit traders leveraging a custodian that isn’t integrated with the exchange will have to store a percentage of assets on the exchange to meet collateral requirements, while the rest will be secured by their custodian of choice. Members will need to deposit 20% of their total assets on Deribit by default, but this number is subject to change depending on trading activity, exposure, risk profiles, and market conditions. Daily settlements of profit and loss occur within the Deribit platform.

As of early 2024, institutional investors and companies have poured billions into the cryptocurrency space. In Q1 2024, over $2.4 billion was invested by venture capital firms in crypto startups. Over 70% of institutional investors are planning to put money in crypto this year.

Institutional investment in the crypto space is surging in the United Arab Emirates. Blockchain data platform Chainalysis found that institutional investments (each exceeding $1 million in value) constituted more than 67% of cryptocurrency transactions in the federation of seven emirates between July 2022 and June 2023. Following these institutional transactions were transfers linked to professional investments, ranging from $10,000 to $1 million, and retail investments made up 4.63% of all transfers in the Emirates, according to a report published on Sept. 26.