The Middle East is becoming an increasingly attractive location for a growing number of cryptocurrency exchanges. After Binance obtained authorization from the regulator in Abu Dhabi in November 2022, more companies have begun appearing in the local market. The latest is Rain Trading Limited, which has received the Financial Services Permission (FSP) issued by the Abu Dhabi Global Market's (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority.

Rain Joins Licensed Firms in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi and Dubai are among the most populated of the seven administrative regions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Both jurisdictions issue separate permits for providing financial services, and while Dubai has recently seemed more popular, Abu Dhabi is also not lagging behind the rising popularity of the cryptocurrency trend in the Middle East.

Rain announced yesterday (Tuesday) that it had obtained permission to provide brokerage and custody services in the digital asset market. It has also partnered with a local bank to settle client deposits in accordance with local regulations.

Rain's CEO, Joseph Dallago, stated that the fight to get the license lasted for five years. Rain was one of the first companies to apply for authorization in 2018 when ADGM presented its virtual asset framework.

"UAE residents will now be able to fund their accounts in minutes, thanks to a partnership with a local UAE bank. Furthermore, customers are further protected through the supervision of a local regulator and thorough legal framework," Dallago added.

As mentioned earlier, Binance has been operating in the local market since November of last year. Previously, it received in-principle approval to provide its services. In addition to Abu Dhabi, many exchanges are opening up to the UAE through Dubai, where the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) licenses are issued. Recently, Bitget, ByBit, and OKX have all received authorization in the emirate.

For Binance, the Middle East is becoming an important jurisdiction, especially in light of regulatory issues in the United States and around the world. According to Alexa Chehade, the General Manager of Binance Dubai, the UAE could become the primary target for cryptocurrency firms seeking favorable and transparent regulations.

The Middle East Becomes a Crypto Hub

According to data related to the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the Middle East and North Africa, this region is the fastest-growing area in the cryptocurrency industry, accounting for 9.2% of global transactions in 2021-2022. In the UAE alone, a staggering increase in the number of registered cryptocurrency companies of 400% was noted over two years.

At the same time, the region has seen an increase of threefold in the number of educational programs related to blockchain , contributing to an 8% rate of hash mining. All these factors have led to an increasing number of exchanges deciding to enter the local market and set up their offices in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

Furthermore, the local market has tremendous potential in terms of the number of retail investors. This is confirmed by FX/CFD market data, where the number of investors is constantly growing despite a global downturn.

In addition, according to Binance MENA statistics, the majority of cryptocurrency holders currently live in the UAE. This represents 28% of all residents of the UAE, meaning that one in four people in the country own cryptocurrencies.