Key Takeaways
- Q9 plans to establish a regional hub in Dubai and has also applied for a full operating license.
- Q9 stated the provisional approval was “a major milestone” as it followed a slew of registrations for Q9’s local entities in Hong Kong and Dubai.
- Binance, FTX, and Kraken have also secured approval from Dubai’s VARA recently.
Leading Hong Kong-headquartered crypto investment platform Q9 Capital has received provisional virtual asset approval from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). The firm, which has also applied for a full operating license, plans to establish a regional hub in Dubai and provide services to qualified investors and financial service providers.
Commenting on the latest development, James Quinn, a managing partner at Q9, Capital said, “We look forward to participating in the authority’s robust compliance framework and continue building partnerships as we expand our presence in Dubai to roll out additional services and enhanced products for the region.”
Q9 Capital stated the provisional approval was “a major milestone” as it followed several registrations for the company’s local entities in both Hong Kong and Dubai.Q9, founded in 2020, now has offices in Hong Kong, London, and Limassol.
Dubai has been working towards positioning itself as a crypto haven with its crypto-friendly policies. Dubai is now competing with the likes of Singapore and the UK to become the global hub for crypto. VARA, established in March 2022, was set up to set international standards for the virtual assets industry and to grant licenses to crypto firms looking to set up in Dubai.
The UAE is starting with a light-touch approach, attracting crypto firms and boosting the domestic crypto sector instead of starting heavy-handed and backtracking when competition among rival crypto hubs intensifies. Consumers in UAE also have a positive, optimistic sentiment towards crypto and digital assets.
This is also reflected in the spike in crypto/digital-related activity in the Emirates. According to analytics firm Chainlaysis, the UAE recorded US$38 billion in cryptocurrency activity from July 2021 to June 2022, up from US$28 billion in the same period a year ago.
Q9 is not the only crypto firm to get approval from Dubai’s VARA in recent months. Last month, Binance-the world’s largest exchange, also secured a license from Dubai’s VARA to offer a range of crypto-related services in the Emirate. Apart from Binance, VARA has already granted licenses to Kraken, Blockchain.com, and FTX Europe—both prominent players within the crypto sector.
