Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has finally secured a minimal viable product (MVP) license in Dubai. The license was granted by Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). VARA earlier granted the exchange a provisional license in March. It is a significant accomplishment that comes after several registrations for Binance’s local organizations around MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) and Europe, including in Italy, France, and Spain.
VARA’s Chairman, His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, stated
“We are pleased to have Binance licensed to operate within the VARA MVP Programme. The VARA regime aims to strike an effective balance between value creation and risk mitigation, enabling open market innovation while assuring protection for the economically vulnerable.”
VARA’s Chairman further highlighted that the MVP Phase is intended for a select group of global players, dedicated to responsible industrial participation across the value chain.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, aka CZ, stated,
“At Binance, we welcome regulations that are globally consistent, enable responsible innovation, protect users, and give them choice. VARA’s unique operating model is setting a benchmark for the global industry, and this most recent registration is an acknowledgement of our compliance and safety processes in the new regulatory framework. We strongly believe there is a significant opportunity to work with our industry peers to develop consistent implementation standards around the world as we have been doing in Dubai.”
How does the license help Binance?
The transition from a provisional license to an MVP license means that Binance can now create a client money account with a local bank. Furthermore, the MVP license allows Binance to provide virtual asset-related services to qualified retail and institutional investors in Dubai. These services include virtual asset exchange services, conversion between virtual assets and fiat currencies, transfer of virtual assets, custody and management of virtual assets, virtual token offering and trading services, and virtual assets payments and remittance services.
Additionally, customers can take advantage of the local banking channels made available by this first-of-its-kind regulatory licensing. Users are also exposed to higher levels of security because of VARA.
Dubai is slowly becoming a crypto hub of the world. Many prominent crypto firms have moved their bases to the region. The business-friendly and pro-crypto nature of regulations have had a tremendous impact on the community. Binance itself has signed several partnerships with firms based in the UAE (United Arab Emirates). The exchange recently partnered with Virtuzone to provide crypto payment solutions to businesses. The exchange also partnered with Majid Al Futtaima, which led to Binance Pay being accepted in 29 retail malls, 13 hotels, and four mixed-use communities in the UAE.