Binance, the world’s leading blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, has received its In-Principle Approval (IPA) for a Financial Services Permission (FSP) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), to operate as a broker-dealer in virtual assets.

ADGM, the International Financial Centre in the capital of the UAE, introduced the world’s first comprehensive and robust virtual asset regulatory framework in 2018, and has since established itself as a leading global hub and business platform for virtual asset activities for local, regional and international organisations.

Dhaher Bin Dhaher Al Mheiri, Chief Executive Officer of the ADGM Registration Authority, said, “We are pleased that Binance has been awarded an In-Principle Approval in the ADGM, and we are excited to support them as they work towards establishing their foothold and presence in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. ADGM is the largest regulated jurisdiction of virtual assets in Middle East And Africa (Mena) region, and Binance’s participation will add to its vibrant and trusted ecosystem of virtual asset trading venues, global exchanges and service providers.”

Richard Teng, Binance’s Regional Head of Mena, commented, “We are grateful for ADGM’s support during our application process, and look forward to working closely with them and other key Abu Dhabi stakeholders for broader deployment of our world-class offerings and services across the whole Mena region and beyond.” Upon the successful completion of its ADGM FSRA application, Binance will then be able to offer its services regarding virtual asset offerings to customers across the Mena region, through its subsidiary Binance (AD) Limited.

Abu Dhabi Global Market Academy (ADGM Academy), the educational arm of Abu Dhabi Global Market has announced recently the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National University of Singapore’s Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF).

Under the MoU, the two entities will collaborate to bring thought leadership to the fintech community and strengthen the Fintech ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and beyond.

They will conduct research into deep-tech solutions to real-world problems facing the financial services sector within the core themes of Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Credit, Big Data Analytics, Digital Transformation, and Sustainable Finance.

The agreement focuses on three key pillars that will accelerate applied-based research in critical future-focused topics, bring together regulators, policymakers, and academia to discuss and solve real-world problem statements from the financial market. The first pillar is research and publication, in which the two entities will conduct in-depth research on the current financial environment, its challenges and future advancements. To further accelerate the research collaboration, a strategic research working group (SRWG) will be established that will include both local and international institutions. In addition, the two organisations will collaborate on the co-development of white papers and other academic publications within the field of future-focused technology.

In addition, AIDF and ADGMA Research Centre together will facilitate knowledge exchange across regions and advance research collaboration. It will also explore further cooperation through the Fincubator programme to develop entrepreneurship and help innovative ideas to transform into market-ready products and services, and drive cross border solutions where possible.

The second pillar is technology development; both the entities will work together on testing and implementation of iCASS (intelligent Credit Analytics Sharing System) into the ADGM Digital Lab Environment to support lenders in making credit facility decisions based on consolidated data and information which will further drive the development of the Abu Dhabi economy within the field of lending for Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs).

WAM