Amid mounting regulatory pressures, Binance has opted to withdraw its application for an Abu Dhabi license, signaling a broader reassessment of its global framework.
The withdrawal of the application by Binance’s unit, BV Investment Management, was confirmed by a spokesperson for the exchange on Thursday. Initially filed a year ago, the application aimed to secure permission from Abu Dhabi’s financial regulator to manage a collective investment fund, as detailed on the regulator’s website.
“After assessing our global licensing needs, we concluded that this specific application was no longer necessary,” stated the Binance spokesperson.
Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Service Regulatory Authority (FSRA) declined to provide any comment on the matter.
The recent resignation of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao as CEO due to pleading guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws, along with the exchange agreeing to a $4.3 billion settlement for a long-standing U.S. investigation, seems to be disconnected from the decision to withdraw the license application, as per the Binance representative.
While the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been actively positioning itself as a digital asset hub, Binance has had regulatory permissions in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as indicated on its website.
In the past year, Binance has made significant moves in Dubai, with plans to fill over 100 positions and actively contribute to shaping the region’s crypto regulations.
Richard Teng, the new CEO, recently spoke at a Financial Times conference, revealing that the company’s Middle East and North Africa headquarters are located in Dubai. However, details about the forthcoming announcement of the global headquarters’ location were withheld during his discussion.
