Key takeaways:
- The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi has authorized Rain to run a virtual asset brokerage.
- The FSP also allowed Rain to publish more trading pairings for crypto assets.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi has given Rain, a cryptocurrency exchange, authorization to run a virtual asset brokerage. The company has also been given the go-ahead to provide its clients with custody services.
On Tuesday, July 25, Rain was granted Financial Services Permission (FSP). As a result, Rain is now able to provide institutional and retail clients with the option to purchase, exchange, and store virtual assets.
A seamless fiat-to-virtual asset on-ramp service in UAE dirhams will also be offered to clients. The FSP also gave Rain the opportunity to publish more trading pairings for crypto assets.
According to the official release, the company has satisfied the requirements for Accepted Virtual Assets put forth by ADGM’s FSRA. Joseph Dallago, the CEO of Rain, commented on the most recent development.
“With this license, we can now offer our customers an even greater level of security and trust, as we continue to drive innovation and growth in the virtual assets space.”
Yehia Badawy, a co-founder of Rain, made it clear in a Reuters interview that the business will also be able to create a bank account in the United Arab Emirates. In fact, users of the local payment network will also be able to finance their own accounts.
According to Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief of Market Development at ADGM, the financial hub “continuously” aims to improve Abu Dhabi’s ecosystem for cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Additionally, it promotes the economy’s diversification. Added him:
“ADGM’s mission has always been centered around unlocking new opportunities for growth and investment in the virtual assets sector. This has been made possible through the implementation of a robust and progressive regulatory framework for digital assets.”
Due to its well-defined regulations, Abu Dhabi is regarded as a crypto hub. The crypto winter resulted in the termination of scores of employees at Rain, a cryptocurrency platform funded by Coinbase.
In January 2022, Rain secured $110 million in a Series B fundraising round, valuing the company at $500 million. According to co-founder Yehia Badawy, the company wants to attract institutional clients and will be able to open a bank account in the UAE and allow customers to fund their own accounts.
