It is expected that investors in the Emirates will conduct their business through their local bank account
A partnership between UAE’s RAKBank and Kraken, a global digital asset exchange, will allow UAE residents to trade virtual assets in UAE dirhams using their local bank accounts.
As the first global exchange to receive a full license from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Kraken operated a regulated virtual asset exchange platform.
RAKBank will enable Kraken to facilitate the deposit of funds into cryptocurrency accounts by UAE-based clients through local banks.
As of now, UAE residents who trade virtual assets are required to fund their trading through banks or foreign correspondents outside the UAE.
The result is that they incur high foreign exchange costs and fees, experience long lead times – sometimes exceeding 24 hours – and are subject to asset management procedures in overseas jurisdictions.
As a result of its efforts to develop the virtual asset sector through a number of policies and regulations, the UAE has attracted some of the world’s leading digital asset companies, including Binance, which is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. As part of its efforts to regulate the virtual asset industry, Dubai passed its first law earlier this year and established the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) as a regulator.