Binance has received three separate licenses from Abu Dhabi’s financial sector regulator, giving the cryptocurrency giant one of its most comprehensive licenses to date.
The approvals, issued during Abu Dhabi Financial Week, cover the activities of the regulated trading platform, clearing infrastructure, and the company's brokerage arm. These licenses enable Binance to operate a trading platform, offer custody and settlement services, and provide over-the-counter services from Abu Dhabi.
Binance has close ties to Abu Dhabi after receiving a $2 billion investment last March from MGX, an artificial intelligence company chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The cryptocurrency platform has yet to decide on the location of its global headquarters, but co-CEO Richard Teng said during Abu Dhabi Financial Week last year that the UAE was an attractive option. Teng previously held an executive position at Abu Dhabi Global Market, the emirate's international financial free zone.
Abu Dhabi increases its investment in Bitcoin funds
Abu Dhabi, with its $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, is a major investor in the cryptocurrency and digital asset sector. The Abu Dhabi Investment Council more than tripled its investment in a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) during the third quarter of the year, just before the cryptocurrency market shifted from a rally to a widespread sell-off.
It is worth noting that the council, an independent unit within Mubadala Investment Company, increased its stake in BlackRock Inc.’s iShares Bitcoin Trust to approximately 8 million shares as of September 30, according to a regulatory disclosure. The stake was then valued at approximately $518 million.
Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, stepped down as CEO in 2023 after pleading guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws. The company then agreed to pay more than $4.3 billion to settle years of US investigations. Zhao received a pardon from US President Donald Trump last October.
global dominance
Binance remains the dominant cryptocurrency platform globally, with a market share of around 35% as of December 2, according to data from Kaiko.
Binance has previously registered subsidiaries with local regulators in countries including France, while authorities have banned its activities in other places, such as Britain.
The platform has also sought to expand through acquisitions, and has made progress recently. In October, South Korean authorities approved Binance's acquisition of the Gopax platform after a review that lasted more than two years.
