Is Abu Dhabi the crypto capital? Why Binance and Tether gather in Abu Dhabi

Deng Tong, Jinse Finance

On December 9, 2025, Circle announced that it had received a financial services license from the Abu Dhabi Global Markets Financial Services Authority, allowing it to operate as a money service provider in the Abu Dhabi International Financial Centre. In addition to Circle, crypto companies such as Binance, Tether, Ripple, Animoca Brands, and others have also achieved regulatory results in Abu Dhabi.

Where is Abu Dhabi? What crypto companies are licensed in Abu Dhabi? Why is Abu Dhabi the crypto capital?

1. Where is Abu Dhabi?

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates, the second largest city in the UAE and the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is located on the west-central coast of the United Arab Emirates, on a T-shaped island in the Persian Gulf. Near the Midwest Coast, most of the cities and emirates are inhabited on the continent connected to the rest of the country.

Abu Dhabi means “where there are antelopes” in Arabic. The region has a typical desert climate, with scarce annual rainfall and summer temperatures reaching 50°C. The city was founded in 1761 and its inhabitants made a living by collecting pearls in the early days, and most of the current residents are from the Arab Asiatic tribe (from which the current president of the UAE is from). In the 60s of the 20th century, the development of oil resources promoted economic transformation, and oil reserves ranked fifth in the world. Abu Dhabi has transformed from a desert to a modern city and is now the political, industrial, cultural and commercial center of the UAE.

On May 1, 2013, the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, issued a decree on the creation of a financial free trade zone on the capital Abu Dhabi Maria Island in the name of the Emir of Abu Dhabi. The business activities that can be carried out in this financial free trade zone, called the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), include banking and financial services, business investment and commercial investment banking, securities trading and trading, insurance, banking advisory services, etc.

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2. Which crypto companies will obtain licenses in Abu Dhabi in 2025?

• Circle

On December 9, 2025, stablecoin issuer Circle announced that it has obtained a Financial Services License (FSP) from the Abu Dhabi Global Markets Financial Services Regulatory Authority, allowing it to operate as a money service provider at the Abu Dhabi International Financial Centre (IFC). In addition, Circle has appointed Dr. Saeeda Jaffar as Managing Director of Circle’s Middle East and Africa. Jaffar will leave Visa to join Circle as Senior Vice President and GCC Group Country Manager at Visa, where she will lead Circle’s regional strategy, deepen partnerships with financial institutions and businesses, and drive accelerated adoption of the company’s digital dollar and on-chain payment solutions in the UAE and the wider Middle East and Africa markets.

• Tether

On December 8, 2025, Tether stablecoin USDT was officially recognized as a “fiat-pegged token” in the Abu Dhabi global market, and licensing institutions can provide regulated custody and trading services, marking an important step in stablecoin regulation in the UAE. According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, this recognition “reinforces the position of stablecoins as an essential part of today’s financial landscape,” indicating the growing adoption of stablecoins in remittances, cross-border settlements, and digital asset markets.

• Binance

On December 8, 2025, Binance announced that it has obtained full regulatory clearance from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), and its global platform will officially operate under the international regulatory framework of ADGM. In accordance with regulatory requirements, the platform operation will be migrated to a new three-entity structure to strengthen transparency, supervision mechanisms and risk management. Starting from January 6, 2026, Binance services will be undertaken by three ADGM-licensed entities: Nest Exchange Services Limited, which is responsible for the operation of platforms such as spot and derivatives trading; Nest Clearing and Custody Limited: Responsible for clearing and custody, as the central counterparty for derivatives transactions; Nest Trading Limited: Provides OTC trading, flash exchange and some financial services.

• Ripple

On November 27, 2025, Ripple announced that its dollar-backed stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), has been recognized by the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) as an “recognized fiat-pegged token” and can be used within the Abu Dhabi Global Market, the international financial center of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

• Animoca Brands

On November 24, 2025, Animoca Brands announced that it has received in-principle approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial center of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to operate as a regulated fund management company. Upon satisfaction of the relevant conditions and final regulatory approval, Animoca Brands will be authorized to carry out collective investment fund management activities within or from ADGM.

• GFO-X

On September 6, 2025, GFO-X Group, a crypto derivatives trading platform, has received in-principle approval from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to launch a digital asset exchange and clearing house, scheduled to officially operate in 2026. The approval allows GFO-X to operate as an accredited investment exchange and clearing house.

• Bitcoin Suisse

On May 21, 2025, Bitcoin Suisse, a Swiss cryptocurrency financial services provider, announced that its subsidiary, BTCS (Middle East) Ltd., has been awarded the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) approved in principle (IPA). The IPA granted by the Abu Dhabi International Financial Centre Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) sets the stage for Bitcoin Suisse to receive a full license soon, enabling it to offer regulated crypto financial services, including virtual assets, crypto securities and derivatives trading, and local custody, in the dynamic international financial center of the Abu Dhabi International Financial Centre.

3. Why is Abu Dhabi the crypto capital?

1. Increasingly perfect regulatory policies

The most fundamental reason why Abu Dhabi can become the darling of crypto companies is the improvement of its crypto regulatory policies.

On June 25, 2018, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) launched a new regulatory framework for crypto-assets (the “Guidelines for the Regulation of Crypto-asset Activities”), which aims to strengthen the governance, supervision and transparency of crypto-asset activities. The regulatory framework covers crypto asset trading activities conducted by ADGM’s domestic exchanges, custodians, and other intermediaries. The framework aims to address various risks associated with crypto asset activities, including money laundering and financial crime risks, consumer protection, technology governance, custody, and trading operations.

On May 14, 2019, the Abu Dhabi Global Markets Financial Services Regulatory Authority revised its Guidelines for the Regulation of Crypto-Asset Activities. The updated guidance reinforces the FSRA’s focus and commitment as a financial services regulator to support innovation and maintain stringent regulatory practices.

Some details are as follows:

• Stablecoins/Fiat Tokens: Stablecoins (fiat tokens) that are fully backed by fiat currencies will be considered a digital representation of the currency. If it is used as a payment instrument for remittance activities as defined in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services and Markets Regulations 2015 (FSMR), the activity will be licensed and regulated as “provision of money services”. The guidance also sheds light on the Financial Services Regulatory Authority’s (FSRA) approach to supervising issuers, custodians, and exchanges using fiat tokens. Custody: Further clarifies the types of crypto asset custody activities that can be carried out and clarifies the FSRA’s expectations for custody governance and operations. Technical Governance: Further improvements and clarifications have been introduced, including those related to forks resulting from changes to the underlying protocol of crypto assets, as well as related governance and control expectations for crypto asset exchanges and license holders.
• FSRA AML and Sanctions Rules and Guidelines (AML): As the AML Rulebook fully applies to the regulated activities of crypto asset operators/holders, the guidelines have been updated in line with the latest local and global changes and further clarifies the use of new regulatory and monitoring technologies in this area.

At the end of 2022, the Abu Dhabi Global Markets Financial Services Authority introduced a new regulatory framework for fiat reference token (FRT) issuance, which came into effect on December 5, 2022. The framework establishes a new independent regulatory activity for FRT issuance, reducing the regulatory burden on FRT issuers while improving financial stability and investor protection. Additionally, the FSRA has initiated a consultation (Consultation Paper No. 11 of 2024) proposing a series of amendments to the FSRA’s regulatory framework for digital assets, reflecting the region’s growing focus on the digital asset space by regulators.

On November 2, 2023, Abu Dhabi officially implemented the world’s first DLT foundation regulatory system. ADGM launched the Distributed Ledger Technology Foundation Regulations 2023 to provide a path for blockchain project parties and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to register as legal entities, support such entities to carry out token issuance and other related activities, and clarify regulatory requirements such as governance and transparency to help the compliant development of Web3 entities.

On June 10, 2025, the Abu Dhabi Global Markets Financial Services Authority announced that it will implement a revision to its digital asset regulatory framework with immediate effect. The amendments focus on modifying the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) process for accepting virtual assets (VA) and using them as recognized virtual assets (AVA) , and setting corresponding capital requirements and fees for authorized persons engaged in regulated activities related to virtual assets (virtual asset companies). The amendments also introduce product-specific intervention rights for virtual assets and establish relevant rules to confirm existing practices prohibiting the use of privacy tokens and algorithmic stablecoins within the ADGM. Finally, the amendments expand the investment scope of venture capital funds.

Abu Dhabi, and the UAE as a whole, has emerged as a significant player in the emerging stablecoin and digital asset markets with its relatively clear regulatory framework. The region itself is a global business hub. The Abu Dhabi Global Market has become a central place for exchanges, custodians, and other crypto-related businesses seeking structured regulation to obtain licenses.

2. Tax-free haven for cryptocurrencies

In addition, Abu Dhabi is also a tax-free paradise for individual crypto practitioners. Individuals who trade, stake, mine, or sell cryptocurrencies do not pay any taxes. Abu Dhabi imposes neither personal income tax nor digital asset capital gains tax. For crypto companies, ADGM has implemented a 50-year tax exemption policy since 2004, and crypto companies in the region do not need to pay taxes and fees related to profits, capital, and assets, employee income is exempt from individual income tax, and 100% foreign ownership is allowed, with no capital repatriation restrictions. In 2023, the UAE will implement a 9% federal corporate tax, which is exempt for crypto businesses with an annual taxable income ≤ AED 375,000 (US$100,000), significantly reducing the initial operating costs of small and medium-sized crypto startups.

3. Sovereign wealth funds are involved in the crypto space

Abu Dhabi has a number of sovereign wealth funds such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Mubadala, all of which have clear official backgrounds and have been deeply involved in the cryptocurrency field through direct investment and the layout of affiliated companies in recent years.

As of June 30, 2025, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investments held 8,726,972 shares of IBIT (BlackRock Bitcoin ETF), with a market capitalization of approximately $534 million.

On April 29 this year, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ, conglomerate IHC (IHC.AD), and Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD), the UAE’s largest bank by assets, announced plans to launch a new stablecoin backed by the dirham, which is the official currency of the United Arab Emirates. The three companies said in their statement that the stablecoin will be fully regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE.

Conclusion

From deserts to modern cities, from pearl gathering to crypto paradises, Abu Dhabi has successfully carved out another path of development based on the oil economy: the capital of crypto innovation. Abu Dhabi has attracted the attention of a large number of crypto companies from around the world with a clear crypto regulatory framework, tax-free or low-tax policies, and sovereign capital participation to take the lead.

In the future, with the continuous development and improvement of the global crypto industry, Abu Dhabi’s label as the “Crypto Capital” may become more stable, and its regulatory experience can provide a reference model for the world.