[ad_1]
united arab emirates Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) on Tuesday announced a written reprimand against a cryptocurrency company. Despite the challenges facing the industry, the UAE remains committed to cryptocurrencies.
VARA said the April 12 letter to the Open Exchange (OPNX) was a response to “unregulated activity.” The agency said in a press release that the company allegedly carried out virtual asset trading services “unregulated” in Dubai and sold its services without obtaining the necessary license from VARA.
Open Exchange is a planned cryptocurrency exchange billed as “the most transparent derivatives exchange in the world.” According to its website, it plans to build a platform that is publicly traded and capable of auditing.
According to Bloomberg, the company was founded by the founders of failed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.
Why it matters: The UAE established VARA in 2022 as a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and related technologies. Meanwhile, the Gulf state has managed to attract several crypto firms to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, such as Crypto.com, Bybit and Kraken.
The 2022 crypto bust hurts Cryptocurrencies in the UAE Scenes. In February, Krane announced the closure of its Abu Dhabi office. Emirates has also received negative press due to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s discredited trip to Dubai in October 2022. Shortly thereafter, FTX went bankrupt.
UAE authorities remain bullish on cryptocurrencies, However. Last month, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s trade minister, told the Atlantic Council that the Gulf nation still “desires to be one of the early adopters of this technology”.
Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of Artificial Intelligence, made similar comments at the World Economic Forum in January.
Cryptocurrencies continue to grow in the UAE. On Monday, Dubai-based BitOasis announced that it had received its first-ever “minimum viable product” license from VARA. The license will allow BitOasis to offer broker-dealer services related to virtual assets, the company said in a release.
learn more: The crackdown on OPNX comes as the UAE seeks to better deter financial misconduct in general. The Gulf state has been embroiled in various money laundering and sanctions violation scandals in recent years.Most recently, British authorities announced in April that they had uncovered a $100 million Money smuggling ring between Dubai and Great Britain.
The UAE’s first corporate tax will come into effect next month.
[ad_2]
Source link