Crypto.com Becomes First Crypto Firm to Receive UAE Stored Value Facilities Licence | LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis
Crypto.com has become the first virtual asset service provider in the United Arab Emirates to receive a Stored Value Facilities licence from the Central Bank of the UAE.
The license grants the company exclusive access to process cryptocurrency payments for government services in the country.
Awarded to Crypto.com’s UAE entity, Foris DAX Middle East FZE, the license enables a partnership with the Dubai Department of Finance, allowing UAE residents to pay government fees using virtual assets.
All financial settlements will be conducted in UAE dirhams or Central Bank-approved dirham-backed stablecoins through the SVF framework, in support of Dubai’s broader Cashless Strategy.
As the sole virtual asset service provider holding an SVF licence in the UAE, Crypto.com holds an exclusive position in the market: any resident wishing to use virtual asset payment services for government fees must be onboarded through Crypto.com’s platform, which is also licensed by the UAE’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
Subject to further approvals from the Central Bank, the licence will additionally enable Crypto.com to launch crypto payment integrations with Emirates Airlines and Dubai Duty Free.
Eric Anziani, President and Chief Operating Officer of Crypto.com, described the licensing milestone as proof of the company’s commitment to compliance and to advancing a regulated digital assets ecosystem in the UAE.
Mohammed Al Hakim, Crypto.com’s President and General Manager for the UAE and Bahrain, said the firm could now offer payment services that no other digital asset platform in the country was able to provide, enabling residents to pay Dubai government fees with cryptocurrency for the first time.
