Binance FZE, the Dubai-based subsidiary of the leading global blockchain services provider, has announced today it is the first exchange to receive the Operational Minimum Viable Product (MVP) licence from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). This stage gate follows VARA’s issuance of the preparatory MVP Licence to Binance in September 2022, which mandated specific conditions to be met in order to be authorised for operations. Successful fulfilment of these requirements, has allowed for Binance FZE to be permitted by VARA to operate two licensed activities – VA Exchange Services; and VA Broker-Dealer Services – limited to Institutional and Qualified Retail investors in Dubai. Having secured the licence to operate within the world’s only custom regulatory and legislative framework for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), this major achievement reaffirms Binance FZE’s commitment to building a compliant exchange in collaboration with local regulators.
The transition to an Operational MVP Licence, from a Provisional Licence received in 2022, means that suitably qualified Binance FZE users will be able to accessthe authorised services including the ability to safely convert VA to Fiat with strong FATF compliant standards. UAE residents and global consumers being on-boarded through this entity will benefit from heightened investor protection and market assurance standards customised for the VA sector, being mandated by VARA for any licensees to be able to offer regulated VA services, in and from Dubai.
Richard Teng, Head of International Markets at Binance, commented: “We are honored to be the first exchange to be granted an operational Minimum Viable Product Licence by VARA — a result of over a year of due diligence, collaboration, and consistent demonstration of responsible intent – that now allows us be able to leverage the potential of a progressive regulatory framework, enabling innovation while furthering user protection. Operating within this regulated ecosystem, we are committed to ensuring secure and seamless customer migration, with robust Know-Your-Customer and Customer-Due-Diligence as part of the rigorous onboarding remediation as stipulated by VARA. Our priority is to be able to operate this first fully regulated exchange in, and from Dubai in a FATF compliant ecosystem, setting the stage for global scalability with uncompromised user assurance.”
The UAE’s embrace of blockchain technology has created a thriving industry showcasing security and innovation are complementary assets at its core, and we believe its vision for this space will set precedents for the global industry. We are proud to be part of VARA’s virtual asset ecosystem, and we look forward to growing even more Web3 opportunities in line with the Dubai Government’s regulatory regime and guidance.”
Alexander Chehade, Binance Dubai’s General Manager, stated: “The last few years have cemented Dubai as a global virtual asset hub and we are excited to be a witness to that growth as we build on our operations here, with continued commitment to market and investor security. With this operational MVP licence, all users onboarded through this platform can expect access to a trusted and regulated service that prioritizes security alongside compliance with highly specialised, tier 1 VA regulations under VARA. This milestone achievement is one step closer to providing even more users with access to our services and we are excited about the continued work in this space.”
