Dubai grants provisional approval to crypto firm Blockchain.com

London-based crypto firm Blockchain.com said it had received preliminary approval to operate in Dubai, becoming the latest in a string of digital asset companies to expand in the Gulf as the region a hub for blockchain technology.

The company, which offers users a crypto wallet and is also a crypto exchange, said on September 9 that it has signed an agreement with Dubai’s crypto regulator Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and will open an office in the region and start renting, Reuters reports. 

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has pushed to develop virtual asset regulation to attract new forms of business as economic competition heats up in the Gulf region.

Dubai, one of the UAE’s seven emirates and the region’s business hub, passed its first law governing virtual assets in March, establishing VARA as a regulator for the sector.

Since then, the emirate has also granted virtual asset licenses to crypto giants Binance and FTX.