Binance obtained an in-principal approval to operate as a broker in digital assets in Abu Dhabi. The approval was received from Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
Richard Teng, the Head of the Middle East and North Africa at Binance said the cryptocurrency exchange still requires to complete its application.
If Binance is able to receive a full license to operate in Abu Dhabi, the company would be able to offer its crypto services across the Middle East via a subsidiary.
Binance was already approved in Dubai and Bahrain.
Teng said that: "Binance has been actively engaging global regulators, such as ADGM, as part of its ongoing commitment to uphold global standards and collectively foster the developments and sustainable growth of the crypto ecosystem."
Binance US Plans for 2022
Last week Binance US raised $200 million with a market valuation of $4.5 billion. VanEck, RRE Ventures and Original Capital are some of the names that participated in the funding round .
The CEO of Binance.US, Brian Shroder confirmed the crypto exchange is planning to go public (initial public offering) in the next 2 to 3 years. No exact date was provided for the IPO.
Binance US is planning to double its product and technical departments with the raised capital. The firm's marketing may increase as well as other trading services that are not confined to spot trading.
Shroder said: "In the last two years that we’ve been in existence we have grown organically. We have never done advertisements outside of app store downloads.
“Coinbase has an eight-year head start on us, and so we are quite pleased with the traction that we have gotten in the last two years alone. I think that this round will help us accelerate it.”
Shroder marks Coinbase as its greatest competitor. Binance US is focusing on maintaining a presence in all 50 states in the United States by the end of 2022.
