Cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced on Tuesday (16th) that its subsidiary, OKX Middle East Fintech FZE, based in Dubai, has been granted a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). This license allows the company to provide virtual asset trading services locally.
OKX stated that the license is currently non-operational until specific conditions and localization requirements are met. Once operational, the VASP license “will allow OKX Middle East to expand its approved range of regulated virtual asset activities and provide spot services and spot trading pairs to institutional and eligible retail clients.”
Rifad Mahasneh, General Manager of OKX Middle East and North Africa, expressed in a statement that the region has great potential to become a center for Web3 and cryptocurrencies. “We eagerly look forward to the opportunity to further enhance the thriving ecosystem in the entire region.”
Dubai has attracted many cryptocurrency companies to establish a presence in the region. In November 2023, both Crypto.com and Hex Trust were granted VASP licenses by VARA. Laser Digital, a digital asset investment company under the Japanese financial services giant Nomura Holdings, also obtained an operational license in Dubai in August last year.
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