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Binance receives full-fledged license to operate in Dubai: The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, is all set to offer its services as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in Dubai after Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) granted the exchange the license yesterday, according to the crypto watchdog’s public register. The license allows Binance to expand its offerings to retail customers. The initial MVP license it held since mid-2023 allowed the exchange to offer services to institutional and qualified investors.
The clincher: Binance obtained the permit after co-founder Changpeng Zhao ceded his voting rights in the exchange’s Dubai unit, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. Zhao’s departure was VARA’s final condition for granting Binance the license. The condition was set out to ensure Dubai’s compliance with the agreement Binance reached with US authorities for Zhao to step down as CEO, according to Bloomberg’s sources.
Background: Binance agreed to pay USD 4.3 bn in penalties after the former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange pleaded guilty last November to breaching US anti-money laundering laws over failing to report over 100k suspicious transactions with organizations including Hamas, Al Qaeda, and ISIS. The crypto platform also failed to report transactions with websites selling child abuse content and was one of the biggest recipients of spoils from hackers using ransomware.
