The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Dubai are among the friendliest jurisdictions for the cryptocurrency industry, according to Stephen Stonberg, CEO of Bittrex Global crypto exchange.
Dubai is likely to benefit from the expanding crypto market in the Middle East as local regulators increasingly accept blockchain-related technologies, Stonberg said in a Sunday Bloomberg interview.
The UAE and Dubai are “doing all the right things and they’re going to attract a lot of regional projects” in the cryptocurrency industry, Stonberg said. He stated that these jurisdictions provide a “great place” to set up a token project or run a cryptocurrency exchange, largely thanks to the region’s status as a tax haven.
According to data from the Tax Justice Network, the UAE became one of the world’s largest fastest-growing tax havens in March 2021 alongside Switzerland and Bermuda.
“I think Dubai is going to do fantastically well,” Stonberg said, adding that Bittrex now expects further expansion and more clients in the region. Bittrex Global is a global crypto trading platform for the Bittrex exchange, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the United States.
The global exchange was officially launched in September 2019 and is headquartered in Liechtenstein. Last year, Bittrex Global received a digital asset license to operate its crypto exchange under the supervision of the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
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The UAE has been cementing its presence in the digital asset industry recently, with Minister of Economy Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri declaring in April that cryptocurrencies and asset tokenization will be key to the country’s plans to double its economy in 10 years. In July, the UAE joined the global central bank digital currency (CBDC) race.
The Dubai Financial Services Authority, the financial regulatory agency for the Dubai International Financial Centre, also initiated several crypto-related regulations this year, intending to adopt a regulatory framework for diverse digital assets in 2021.