Cryptocurrency exchange Deribit plans to move its headquarters to Dubai as early as the third quarter of this year. Bloomberg’s report says the new office will be staffed by a team of 10, including domestic workers and core exchange staff. Administration, compliance and support functions will be based in the Dubai office.
According to David Dohmen, Deribit’s Chief Legal, Compliance and Regulatory Officer, some employees will continue to work in Panama. Dohmen was quoted as saying that Dubai’s regulatory regime is better suited to cryptocurrencies than other jurisdictions.
“We’ve had a number of clients who basically intimated to us that they would like to trade on a crypto exchange that’s actually regulated. In Panama, we are not regulated. Also, we also saw where the regulatory winds were blowing, and there was a drive toward regulation across the globe.”
The Executive also said that Deribit is seeking to submit an application and supporting documentation for a market-wide product license to the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority after the authority has received regulatory clarity.
Deribit also has offices in Amsterdam, while the Netherlands-based parent company and related subsidiaries currently employ 95 people worldwide.
Dubai Lays The Groundwork For Crypto Expansion
The news comes after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) introduced new regulation for digital assets, a move that establishes the country’s initial regulatory regime for the federal-level cryptocurrency space.
Dubai has also created its own cryptocurrency regulator – the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) – which industry insiders believe will be a key catalyst for global and regional Web3 companies to enter or exit their businesses in the coming months to expand. The city has become home to several cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance, Crypto.com, OKX and more.
