Fintonia Group (Fintonia), an entrepreneurial financial services company based in Singapore, announced that it has secured a provisional virtual asset license granted by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The license allows Fintonia to participate in Dubai’s fast-growing digital assets ecosystem by operating crypto native services under full regulatory supervision, enabling it to deliver top-tier financial solutions to a new geographical pool of clients and serve the regional market more effectively.
Dubai has made great strides towards establishing itself as a hub for the Virtual Asset [VA] industry. As the first and only jurisdiction globally to set-up a specialist regulator dedicated to the virtual asset economy, Dubai’s VARA has been actively developing progressive parameters to enable a highly selective list of global participants establish themselves in their regime for the initial phase. Fintonia joins this niche ecosystem alongside FTX, ByBit, Binance, Crypto.com among other industry leaders.
Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai World Trade Centre Authority that houses VARA said, “We welcome the Fintonia Group to our licensing programme, even as we look to enable the most responsible and innovative global participants in the virtual asset ecosystem. As with the approach so far, we are committed to enabling VASPs across the value chain so long as there is alignment with our appreciation for uncompromised governance as being integral to the VA sector’s ability to safely and sustainably become a driver of the future global economy. We look forward to engaging with Fintonia to build thought leadership for the virtual assets industry and their active contribution to facilitating VARA’s regime, drive the next phase of maturity for the sector.”
Fintonia’s presence in Dubai makes it well-positioned to tap into an exponentially growing market – over two-thirds of United Arab Emirates (UAE) residents are interested in investing in cryptocurrencies within the next five years – as well as cover the region’s market activities more efficiently to serve its clients. Additionally, Fintonia can leverage the rapid development of new products and services for crypto native companies in the Middle East to expand and enhance its own offerings.
“Dubai is making significant strides towards establishing itself as a virtual assets hub and creating a conducive environment for the industry’s growth and we are very pleased to be part of this rapid growth. The virtual asset license marks an important milestone in our aspiration to have a presence in every region where there are innovative Web 3.0 and crypto companies, enabling us to connect and collaborate with members of the crypto native ecosystem and the traditional financial services industry,” said Adrian Chng, Founder of Fintonia Group.
Fintonia’s virtual asset license in Dubai is the latest in a series of industry achievements for the group. In late 2021, Fintonia launched two institutional-grade Bitcoin (BTC) funds in Singapore, namely the Fintonia Bitcoin Physical Fund which provides accredited investors with direct economic exposure to Bitcoin and the Fintonia Secured Yield Fund, which gives investors access to private loans secured by Bitcoin. Moving forward, Fintonia expects to expand its team in Dubai, as well as provide tailored Treasury and Balance Sheet management services to Token Foundations, protocols, Bitcoin miners and other large holders of digital assets.
