The Middle Eastern arm of OKX, the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has received an MVP Preparatory license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), allowing it to get ready for when the license becomes operational. OKX Middle East has already taken up residence in a new office in Dubai World Trade Center, and plans to expand the number of staff to 30, with a focus on local hires and senior management.
Once the Minimal Viable Product (MVP) license becomes fully operational, OKX Middle East will provide spot, derivatives, and fiat services, including U.S. dollar and United Arab Emirates dirham (AED) deposits, withdrawals, and spot-pairs. Tim Byun, OKX global head of government relations, said in an interview that Dubai has probably the most comprehensive and timely regulation to date and that clarity and finality of who to go to when it comes to regulations is a huge plus.
Crypto exchanges are exploring their options around the globe, with OKX and Binance both following a similar path of shuttering operations in Canada for the time being. Byun pointed out OKX remains strongly committed to Canada and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). In terms of how OKX is reacting to the recent SEC enforcement actions against exchanges, Byun said his company expanded very early into the U.S. with a separate brand in the form of OKCoin.