UAE Competition Heats Up: BitOasis Gets Important Approval

Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange BitOasis adds another layer to the crypto race for their home country, the United Arab Emirates, having obtained an in-principle approval (IPA) from the local regulatory authorities.

BitOasis, which operates in the Middle East and North Africa, announced earlier today that they received a preliminary approval in April from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FRSA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market Authorities (ADGM) for operating a cryptocurrency exchange, along with wallets. Now, the exchange has to satisfy certain requirements from the authority for the IPA in order to start offering services as a regulated exchange.

“The IPA serves as an important milestone and achievement for the company in its journey as it aims to become the first licensed and regulated crypto asset exchange and custodian in the Middle East, and among a group of few regulated exchanges in the space globally,” the company said in a press release.

Ola Doudin, co-founder and CEO of BitOasis, wrote on her Twitter profile that it is “a big milestone for us and for the crypto asset industry in the region!” In February this year, at the annual Step Conference in Dubai, she said that they had been working with regulators since June 2018, adding, “Hopefully that happens this year […] It’s a very extensive process, and a well-thought-through process.”

In June 2018, the ADGM announced they would be establishing a framework to regulate spot crypto asset activities. “I want to give credit to the ADGM, [and] to the FRSA team,” Doudin added at the time, “for taking action and putting the first crypto asset exchange framework, that allows companies to get fully regulated and serve the wider market.”

On BitOasis, you can trade Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin, Zcash, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum Classic against Bitcoin.

However, the exchange is not the only contender for the first regulated cryptocurrency exchange in the UAE. As Cryptonews.com previously reported, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken seems to be looking at the same course of action.

Also as reported, the Emirates seem to be entering the crypto game as a force to be reckoned with. For example, in the last six months, the UAE was second in the world by amount raised during token sales (USD 228 million, or 12.9% of the total amount,) according to token sale data provider CoinSchedule. However, by the number of token sales, the UAE was outside the top 10 countries.

Token sales in the past six months: