Kraken awarded crypto trading license in the United Arab Emirates

Californian crypto exchange Kraken becomes the second virtual asset platform after Binance to receive regulatory approval to operate in the Abu Dhabi international financial center and free zone, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

In a CNBC interview, Kraken’s managing director Curtis Ting explains the importance of diversifying trading pairs to local currencies instead using the traditionally available U.S. dollar or British pounds in global markets.

With the new operational license in Abu Dhabi, Kraken aims to better integrate with local banks and payment service providers. According to Ting, this will help the crypto exchange bring global-level liquidity to the United Arab Emirates region.

Citing Dubai’s existing massive trading volumes i.e. upwards of $25 billion worth of cryptocurrency annually, Ting added that “the region is ready and they’ve been waiting for a regulated offering like ours.” While operating as a fully licensed crypto exchange, Kraken will offer United Arab Emirates dirham (AED) pairs for local investors:

“For us, it’s really important to facilitate access to global markets and global liquidity by making sure that investors and traders in the region have access to local currencies [trading pair].”

In addition to Abu Dhabi, competing crypto exchange Binance has already bagged regulatory approvals from two more regions in the Middle East — Bahrain and Dubai.

In addition to the influx of regulated businesses in the Middle East, local businesses, too, have started stepping in to the world of cryptocurrencies.

Citizens School in Dubai started accepting tuition payments (between 45,000 AED to 65,000 AED) in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). As Cointelegraph reported, the crypto payments will be automatically converted into dirhams. Dr Adil Alzarooni, the school’s founder, commented:

“We look forward to enhancing the role of young generations in achieving the UAE’s digital economy. As more people embrace the era of digitalization, today’s children will become the entrepreneurs and investors of tomorrow.”

The school is currently available to students aged between 3 to 11 and is set to open in September 2022.