Cro Dax Middle East, the Dubai-based subsidiary of cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com, has secured a licence to offer specified virtual asset service activities from the emirate’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
The virtual assets service provider licence is subject to the company satisfying certain conditions and localisation requirements defined by Vara and will be able to commence operations subject to an operational approval notice from the regulator, it said on Tuesday.
Following operational approval, the Vasp licence will allow Singapore-based Crypto.com to “offer regulated virtual asset service activities, including exchange services, broker-dealer services, management and investment services, and lending and borrowing services”, it added.
The services will be available to retail and institutional users through its app and exchange platform.
“Dubai continues to show it is a leading market when designing effective regulation for the crypto space while still supporting adoption and innovation,” said Kris Marszalek, chief executive of Crypto.com.
Dubai adopted a law to regulate virtual assets to provide investors a safe environment while embracing emerging technologies as interest in them grows.
Vara was established by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, in March 2022 under the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Law, the first law of its kind in the emirate.
The body aims to create an advanced legal framework to protect investors and provide international standards for virtual asset industry governance to enable responsible business growth.
In February, Vara issued regulations to offer certainty and greater clarity on the expected level of operator responsibility, and also mitigate market risks.
It has been a tumultuous 18 months for the global cryptocurrency sector after the collapse of a number of large platforms, including Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.
The collapse of FTX, once valued at $32 billion, is the highest-profile cryptocurrency exchange failure to date.
On November 2, Bankman-Fried was found guilty of defrauding customers of his cryptocurrency exchange in one of the biggest financial frauds on record in the US.
Bitcoin was trading at about $36,471 on Tuesday morning.
Crypto.com is “working diligently” to become one of the first virtual asset exchanges to implement its Vasp licence following Vara’s issuance of its specialised regulations for virtual assets in February, the company said.
The company received its minimum viable product provisional licence in June 2022 and MVP preparatory licence in March this year.
An MVP is an early version of a service that can be released to determine market fit and gather feedback. It precedes full market product (FMP) status, according to Vara’s website.
Securing an operational licence is the third and final step in Vara’s MVP process, following the preparatory and provisional stages.
It grants virtual asset service providers permission to conduct activities in seven categories, according to Vara’s website.
In March 2022, Crypto.com said Dubai was its regional hub for the Middle East and Africa.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Prophets of Rage
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Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
