Binance, crypto companies optimistic about UAE amid US regulatory change.
UAE-based Binance and other cryptocurrency companies hope the country will remain a destination for virtual assets even as Western superpowers shift to the US for more crypto-friendly jurisdictions.
The “enforced regulation” in the US has led global crypto companies to relocate to locations such as the UAE, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Singapore. However, the idea that companies could return to the U.S. if there is a change in direction was floated during a panel discussion at the GlobalBlockchain Congress in Dubai on December 11.
Highlighting the UAE's approach to technology and innovation, Binance General Manager for the Middle East and North Africa, Alex Chehadeh, said the local government has built infrastructure around several initiatives that include not only AI, but also Web3, sustainability and other verticals.
“[People exiting] No worries. Maybe we're worried. [about]'Do we have enough infrastructure for people coming in?'
“The record is there… we've got the education system, the health care system, the roads, the trains. Where else are you moving? To other regions? They are not issuing visas. They don't have the infrastructure,” he added.
Chehade said Binance, which recently had its fund manager license revoked in Abu Dhabi and found its former CEO Changpeng Zhao guilty of a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. agencies, would remain in the region, and in the United Arab Emirates capital, a small brokerage operating in Dubai with a protective license. Valid product license.
Meanwhile, Feras Al Sadek, managing partner at blockchain private investment firm Ghaf Capital Partners, leads the United Arab Emirates through its “regulation education”, highlighting the local regulators' approach by actively supporting projects through various participations, including conferences and meetups. he said:
“It is very difficult to find regulators who will fight, educate and support these companies. So I think it's a key differentiator between us and the rest of the world.
He pointed to the UAE's aim to become a technology industry leader by 2030, employing thousands of new technologies, including 30,000 people in artificial intelligence.
Related: Dubai regulator grants Bahrain's CoinMENA crypto license
“You come with a plan,” said Faisal Zaidi, founder of Crypto Oasis Ventures. [to live here short-term]But because your life is here…communities and ecosystems, people will last forever. He added:
“Maybe there is. [will be] New firms coming in will slow down, but existing ones will stay.
The wave of government enforcement against crypto companies in the US has pushed crypto companies, industry leaders have suggested that crypto startups temporarily withdraw their powers, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by Chairman Gary Gensler, has angered the crypto community.
However, the landscape may be shifting in a more favorable direction for the crypto community, as US Senators Cynthia Lammis and Kirsten Gillibrand reintroduced a bill in July to create a crypto regulatory framework.
