By George Ward
As the crypto sector in the United States continues to feel the impact of the ongoing crackdown by the US securities watchdog, Binance has set its sight on conquering the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as its new market. Thanks to its friendly legislation toward digital assets, the UAE has emerged as the next global powerhouse in the blockchain and Web3 ecosystem.
A Next Destination for Binance?
Alex Chehade, the general manager of Binance Dubai, remarked that the UAE had become a major destination for crypto trading platforms looking to expand their operations due to the region’s friendly policy on virtual currency. Chehade revealed that Binance had keyed into the ambitious vision of the UAE’s government to position the region as a prominent hub for Web3.
He added that the region seeks to reduce their reliance on traditional energy sources, and they view cryptocurrency as an influential catalyst for achieving its diversification goals. Banking on its transparent and well-defined crypto regulations, the UAE seeks to become the next destination for top crypto exchanges such as Binance.
While grappling with legal challenges from US regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Binance considers the UAE a better option due to its regulatory certainty.
Chehade added that Binance is in the UAE because the authorities have assured the firm that it can set up its office there over the long term. The Binance executive explained that no business wants to set up its shop in a jurisdiction where the regulatory policies constantly change.
Chehade emphasized that Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) is a significant catalyst, Chehade causing the influx of crypto businesses into the region. “In contrast to other jurisdictions, the UAE provides a well-defined framework that offers individuals and businesses a clear pathway for active participation in the industry,” he explained.
Apart from regulations, the Binance official believes the influx of young people to the UAE would boost crypto adoption in the region.
Binance Market Shares Tumbles to One-year Low
Meanwhile, a recent report from Kaiko, a blockchain data analytics platform, states that the world’s largest crypto exchange has seen its market shares drop to its lowest in a year. At the start of the month, Binance.US faced a lawsuit filed by the SEC on multiple charges of breaching US federal securities laws.
At the time of the lawsuit, Binance’s spot trading market share remained at 56%. But the latest figures from Kaiko show that this market share has declined to 53.7%, its lowest point since August 2023.
Two months ago, there was also a notable decline in Binance’s daily market share, reaching a low point of 47%. The drop came in the aftermath of the SEC’s lawsuit.
Meanwhile, the regulatory pressure on major crypto exchanges like Binance continues to intensify despite the entrance of prominent players from traditional finance. For instance, the leading asset management firm, BlackRock Inc., is keen on exploring the market by introducing regulated Bitcoin exchange-traded funds products.
Coinbase, a top US-based exchange, was also slapped with a lawsuit by the regulator this month. Following the lawsuit, Coinbase saw a drop in its market shares to 6.8% from the previous 7.6% recorded in January 2023.
Regardless, Binance continues to outperform other crypto exchanges. Thus, it has an edge over others as it provides more liquidity and trading opportunities.
Meanwhile, data from DefiLlama shows that Binance holds the largest quantity of customer tokens, boasting reserves of $59.2 billion. This statistic further proves that Binance is a dominant player in the crypto industry.
Consequently, observers believe that investors would continue to use Binance for most of their crypto transactions given its track record of providing sufficient liquidity and trading depth which help reduce any potential decrease in its market shares.