Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has reportedly closed its office in Abu Dhabi less than 12 months after receiving regulatory approval to operate in the region. According to a Feb. 2 report from Bloomberg, Kraken shut down its Abu Dhabi office, laying off roughly eight people on the team focused on the Middle East and North Africa, or MENA. The exchange had been licensed to offer services in the Abu Dhabi international financial center and Abu Dhabi Global Market since April 2022 — prior to the market downturn affecting many crypto firms. As part of the shutdown, Kraken reportedly suspended support for …

Effective regulations are one of the key gateways to cryptocurrency’s mainstream adoption. Due to greater compliance, crypto businesses saw broader acceptance from regulators worldwide. While the crypto ecosystem was awarded countless operational licenses and exposure to new markets, the fall of Terraform Labs, FTX and Celsius, among others, had a negative impact on the industry's reputation with investors and regulators alike. As we look back on 2022 and all it brought for the cryptocurrency industry, we're highlighting how the regulatory landscape has changed for cryptocurrencies and the blockchain industry as a whole. North America China’s blanket ban on crypto mining …

The sudden failure of FTX has left many people questioning the impact this will have on the cryptocurrency ecosystem. For instance, it remains questionable whether or not crypto hotspots will continue to flourish or if there will be a decline in innovation. While it may be too soon to fully understand the impact of the FTX collapse, industry leaders within crypto-friendly geographies believe that the FTX failure will not hamper innovation. For example, Dubai — which has been dubbed as one of the most innovative regions for crypto and blockchain development — continues to see ecosystem activity. Most recently, The …

Changpeng Zhao, chief executive officer of crypto exchange Binance, has denied a report claiming he met with investors in Abu Dhabi in an effort to raise cash for the company’s crypto recovery fund. According to a Nov. 22 report from Bloomberg, CZ and others affiliated with Binance discussed raising cash for its proposed fund, aimed at helping projects with potential liquidity issues. Zhao and the Binance team reportedly met with potential backers associated with United Arab Emirates National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, while a Binance spokesperson said the meetings were “focused on general global regulatory matters.” CZ pushed …

Last week was tough — the alarming series of crypto meltdowns continued with the failure of FTX, one of the biggest exchanges on the market. The crypto industry’s very own “Lehman Brothers moment” pushed regulators to react. United States Senator Cynthia Lummis, famous for her openly pro-crypto position, promised deliberate with her colleagues on whether there was market manipulation, while Maxine Waters, chair of the United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, pushed for additional federal oversight of crypto trading platforms and consumer protection. European Parliament economics committee member Stefan Berger has compared the current situation with FTX to …

A new blockchain and cryptocurrency-focused association has been launched within Abu Dhabi's free economic zone that aims to further the development of blockchain and crypto ecosystems across the Middle Eastern, North Africa, and Asian regions. The Middle East, Africa & Asia Crypto & Blockchain Association (MEAACBA) was officially launched on Nov. 8 in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a free economic zone based in the center of the city subject to its own set of civil and commercial laws. The zone was designed to further the growth of fintech companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The non-profit organization …

21Shares, a major global provider of cryptocurrency exchange trading products (ETP), is debuting a physical Bitcoin (BTC) ETP in the United Arab Emirates. The new 21Shares Bitcoin ETP has started trading on the international financial exchange Nasdaq Dubai under the ticker ABTC, the firm announced on Oct. 12. The newly launched crypto product is physically backed, which means that it’s fully collateralized by the underlying Bitcoin assets they track with 1:1 leverage, 21Shares co-founder and CEO Hany Rashwan told Cointelegraph. The ETP’s underlying crypto assets are deposited in an offline wallet to ensure better security, he noted. 21Shares’ expansion into …

Blockchain exchange Binance has reported an increase in user growth across the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region, alleging a 49% surge in user sign-ups so far in 2022. According to the exchange, this growth indicates an increasing interest in virtual assets supported by progressive government initiatives. This could enable regulated businesses to enter the space, thereby, raising awareness and driving adoption. In order to scale its product in the MENA region, Binance has increased licensing and partnerships with regulated firms and increased its team within the territory. In Dubai alone, Binance has grown its team to over 400 …

The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan has had a “massive chilling effect” on the local cryptocurrency market, bringing it to an effective “standstill,” according to a recent report. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis in an Oct. 5 report stated the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region saw the largest crypto market growth in 2022 but noted that Afghani crypto dealers had three options: “flee the country, cease operations, or risk arrest.” The report states after the Taliban seized power in August 2021, crypto value received in August and September that year spiked to a peak of over $150 million, then fell …

Emerging markets continue to forge their way into the crypto scene finding a plethora of use cases, especially in the combined Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. A new report from Chainalysis reveals that the crypto market in the MENA region is the fastest growing in the world. Transaction volume in the MENA region reveals users received $566 billion in crypto in the time frame of July 2021 to June 2022. This is 48% more than the previous year. MENA is followed by Latin America and North America with a growth of 40% and 36% respectively. This region is …

A multi-jurisdictional Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot has been marked “successful” by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) after a month-long test phase that facilitated $22 million worth of real-value cross-border transactions. The central banks of Hong Kong, Thailand, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) took part in the pilot program along with 20 commercial banks from those regions. More than $12 million worth of value was issued onto the test platform, which facilitated 164 foreign exchange transactions and cross-border payments between the participating firms totaling over $22 million worth of value according to a Tuesday LinkedIn post …

Cryptocurrency adoption continues growing in the Kingdom of Bahrain, with local companies enabling payments in crypto like Bitcoin (BTC). EazyPay, an online payment platform regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), has partnered with Binance Pay to enable crypto payments in the country, EazyPay CEO and founder Nayef Tawfiq Al Alawi announced on Wednesday. The newly launched crypto payment option will be available in more than 5,000 point-of-sale (POS) terminals and online payment gateway across Bahrain, the CEO said. Major local merchants and firms, including Lulu Hypermarket, Sharaf DG, Al Zain Jewelry and Jasmi’s, will be able to accept …