Circle gets Abu Dhabi greenlight amid UAE stablecoin and crypto push

Stablecoin issuer Circle has obtained a Financial Services Permission license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), allowing it to operate as a Money Services Provider in the Abu Dhabi International Financial Center. To lead its regional strategy, Circle appointed Saeeda Jaffar as its managing director for the Middle East and Africa. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire praised the ADGM's regulatory framework for setting high standards in transparency and risk management necessary for trusted stablecoins to scale in finance. This approval is part of a broader trend in the UAE, where regulators are actively supporting the crypto ecosystem, having recently granted licenses to competitors like Tether and Ripple for their stablecoins, and to Binance for exchange, clearing house, and broker-dealer services. Furthermore, the UAE Central Bank introduced new regulations in November covering DeFi and Web3 services, cementing the country's status as a growing global crypto hub.

(Source：Cointelegraph)