The ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority has authorized crypto investment platforms eToro and M2 to operate in the UAE. While the former receives a securities, derivatives, and crypto assets broker license, the latter is a regulated Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) and custodian.
EToro has obtained authorization to function as a broker for crypto assets, derivatives, and securities through a Financial Services Permission (FSP). In contrast, M2 has received accreditation as a completely regulated Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) and custodian, enabling it to accept institutional and UAE-based clients.
According to eToro’s founder and CEO, the new UAE licensing, Yoni Assia, is “a significant milestone in our ongoing global expansion.” The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) granted eToro Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) standing in September.
Deputy CEO Hedva Ber emphasized the significance of a European operating license for a cryptocurrency company seeking global expansion.
For institutional and retail clients in the UAE, M2 will provide crypto custody, trading in Bitcoin and Ether denominated in UAE dirhams, and on/off ramp services for the dirham. M2 CEO Stefan Kimmel considers the resurgence of optimistic investor sentiment to be an ideal circumstance for the issuance of licenses.
November saw the introduction of comprehensive regulations regulating Web3 organizations by the registration authority of the ADGM, while the UAE continues to attract international crypto players with operational licenses.
The Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Foundations Regulations 2023 aims to furnish traditional foundations expanding into DLT, Web3 entities, blockchain foundations, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) with regulatory clarity.
The regulations permit the establishment of a “DLT Foundation” through the submission of a signed charter, which must contain the following: a description of the foundation’s initial assets, information regarding its governance and token issuance (if applicable), a link to the organization’s white paper and tokenomics paper, and a reference to a technical document known as a DLT Framework.