By George Ward
Omar Sultan Al Olama, the country’s state minister for AI and the digital economy, says that no crypto company has signed up new customers in the last week.
VARA Yet has Not granted a Full Market Product License
According to Omar Sultan Al Olama, the minister of the digital economy for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), the body responsible for regulating virtual assets, has not yet approved any operating licenses for any crypto service provider.
Al Olama made this statement while speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF). He stated that no cryptocurrency exchange entity, including FTX and Binance crypto exchange, has received the nation’s full market product (FMP) permit.
According to him, no crypto service provider has completed all four steps of the VARA verification process. Meanwhile, Binance was able to offer an authorized range of virtual asset-related services to properly qualified institutional and retail investors in Dubai.
Its offerings followed a VARA approval license in March 2022, which granted the company a minimal viable product (MVP) permit. Other cryptocurrency service providers have also received licenses similar to this one.
Some cryptocurrency exchanges have used these licenses to boost their credibility with prospective customers. However, the VARA has now made it clear that the provisional MVP license awarded to Binance and other crypto trading platforms is the first step in a three-step process.
VASPs Are Not Allowed To Sell Their Services To The General Public
According to the VARA, these licenses are only provided to enable virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to satisfy pre-conditions necessary for FMP permits. In addition, the regulatory body restated Al Olama’s stance that no cryptocurrency business has been granted a full operating license.
The regulatory body explained in a notification posted on its website that any information or representation contrary to this is false. The regulator added that MVP licensees could not offer their services to large retail clients until they receive the Phase 4 FMP license authorization.