BitOasis secures MVP operational license from Dubai’s VARA

BitOasis has received the first broker-dealer minimum viable product (MVP) operational licence from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).

The UAE-based crypto exchange, which received provisional approval to start the licencing process in March 2022, is the first broker-dealer to complete the MVP stage, paving the way for the firm to provide VA broker-dealer services to qualified retail and institutional investors.

“BitOasis is the first virtual asset broker-dealer and trading platform to have received an MVP operational licence under VARA’s regulatory framework,” the crypto trading platform said in a statement.

No firm has yet been licensed under the full market product (FMP) stage, according to VARA’s website.

Another milestone for #BitOasis! We’re glad to announce that we’ve received a first-of-its-kind operational MVP license from #Dubai‘s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority #VARA, enabling us to serve you even better.
Read more about this exciting news here: https://t.co/i85sADpz1K pic.twitter.com/twdb4XKAOQ

— BitOasis (@bitoasis) May 1, 2023

BitOasis plans to leverage its new license to launch strategic partnerships in Dubai and across the UAE, to provide qualified investors the opportunity to buy, sell and hold virtual assets on the platform.

It also plans to launch new virtual asset products with a continued focus on driving accessibility, consumer protection and utility across the virtual asset ecosystem.

“The VARA ecosystem aims to strike a balance between value creation, risk mitigation and enhanced investment opportunities with consumer protection at its core,” Henson Orser, CEO of VARA said adding that BitOasis has demonstrated a strong commitment to operating with a firm bias for regulation throughout the licensing process.

BitOasis growth trajectory

Meanwhile, BitOasis is poised to become the first to receive an FMP licence to operate in the region after securing the minimum viable product licence from VARA.

The achievement of this milestone comes as a result of the company’s longstanding commitment to proactive collaboration with regulators and sector stakeholders in the UAE and beyond.

Founded in Dubai in 2016, the crypto trading platform enables users across the GCC and MENA region to buy and sell over 60 tokens with fiat currencies such as AED, SAR, TRY and USD.

The company became the only VA platform to offer customers the ability to deposit funds to bank accounts in the UAE on a fee-free and near real-time basis in 2021.

BitOasis became the first crypto platform in the UAE to be registered with the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit (Go-AML platform) in 2021 following an extensive risk assessment completed with the UAE’s executive office of anti-money laundering and combatting terrorism financing.

In October 2022, BitOasis partnered with Mastercard to launch a series of crypto card programmes in the Middle East region to enable the use of cryptocurrencies at points of sale and across e-commerce platforms.

Read: Mastercard, BitOasis to launch crypto-linked cards in MENA region

The partnership would allow the crypto exchange platform’s customers to convert their cryptocurrency holdings to fiat currency, allowing them to easily shop and pay at more than 90 million merchant locations globally.

The first BitOasis cards are expected to launch in 2023 subject to regulatory approvals. The UAE has been pushing to develop virtual asset regulation and VARA published the final framework of rules governing digital asset companies that will pay the way to get full regulatory license in the city in February.