UAE Firm BitOasis Gets Provisional Approval From Dubai's New Crypto Regulator

BitOasis, a Middle East-focused crypto exchange based in the United Arab Emirates, has received provisional approval from Dubai's new crypto regulator as the UAE pushes to become a centre for the virtual asset sector.

This month, Dubai, one of the UAE's seven emirates and the region's trade hub, issued its first law governing digital assets. It formed the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) to oversee the sector.

Dubai this month granted virtual asset licences to Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, and FTX Europe, which will set up a regional headquarters in the city. This week, global exchanges Bybit and Crypto.com said they are also establishing operations there.

BitOasis, which was founded in Dubai in 2015 and served English and Arabic speaking customers in the Gulf and the Middle East, will continue operations in Dubai while it applies for a full VARA license, the company said.

Before coming under VARA, BitOasis had been registered with the central bank and reported anti-money laundering issues to the bank's financial intelligence unit, the company said.

The UAE has been pushing to develop the virtual asset sector and regulation to attract new business forms as regional economic competition heats up.

Internationally, regulators worry about how a meltdown in crypto assets - markets that are highly volatile and still opaque - would feed into the broader financial sector, and there is a global push to regulate the sector.

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