FTX Obtains Operational MVP Licence in Dubai

FTX Exchange FZE, a subsidiary of FTX Europe, today announced that it has received approval to participate in Dubai's Minimum Viable Product (MVP) programme for virtual assets from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).

The MVP licence allows the exchange to deploy regulated crypto derivatives and trading services for qualified institutional investors throughout the region. In addition, FTX will be able to function as a clearing house, manage the NFT market and provide custodial services within strictly regulated parameters for a defined class of consumers.

Balsam Danhach, head of FTX Middle East and North Africa, told Reuters:

Our licence expands to retail customers as well, however, it will be a gradual scale up to ensure that we approach the retail market within the guidelines set by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (Dubai's sector regulator).

The United Arab Emirates is keen to become the hub of the virtual asset sector and the metaverse, so is actively working with global crypto platforms, for instance, Binance, Crypto.com, OKX, Huobi and Komainu.