Crypto exchange Rain has been granted permission by Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority to operate a virtual asset brokerage. The firm has also been green-flagged to offer custody services to its clients. Rain received its Financial Services Permission [FSP] on Tuesday, July 25.
This means Rain can now offer institutional and retail customers the ability to buy, sell and store virtual assets. Furthermore, clients will be provided with a seamless fiat-to-virtual asset on-ramp service in UAE dirhams.
Also Read: Will Wall Street Accept the ‘Trillion’ Dollar Crypto Custody Challenge?
The FSP also opened doors for Rain to list additional crypto asset trading pairs. The firm has met the Accepted Virtual Assets criteria set out by ADGM’s FSRA, the official statement noted. Commenting on the latest development, Rain CEO Joseph Dallago reportedly said,
“With this license, we can now offer our customers an even greater level of security and trust, as we continue to drive innovation and growth in the virtual assets space. Rain now offers the only regulated on-ramp and off-ramp of AED into virtual assets in the UAE.”
In an interview with Reuters, Rain Co-Founder Yehia Badawy clarified that the firm will also be able to open a bank account in the UAE. In fact, clients will also be able to fund their own accounts while using the local payment network.
Also Read: Societe Generale Becomes 1st Company to Receive Crypto License in France
We are trying to add value to Abu Dhabi’s digital asset ecosystem: AGDM Chief
Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief of Market Development at ADGM asserted that the financial center is “continuously” trying to add value to Abu Dhabi’s crypto and digital asset ecosystem. Parallelly, it is also fostering the diversification of the economy. He added,
“ADGM’s mission has always been centered around unlocking new opportunities for growth and investment in the virtual assets sector. This has been made possible through the implementation of a robust and progressive regulatory framework for digital assets.”
Rain was initially granted its in-principle approval for an FSP in January 2022. A few days before that, Rain Financial raised $110 million in its Series B funding round. Bahrain-based Rain is backed by Coinbase and Silicon Valley VC firm Kleiner Perkins.
Also Read: South Korea: Top Banks Explore CBDC, Stablecoin Alternative