The company will build a headquarters in Dubai to operate exchange and clearinghouse services for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies through a subsidiary.
The exchange will begin offering services exclusively to institutional investors in Dubai through operating a digital asset marketplace, custodial services and facilitating trading services for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It will also offer access to derivatives.
“Our license expands to retail customers as well, however, it will be a gradual scale up to ensure that we approach the retail market within the guidelines set by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (Dubai’s sector regulator),” said Balsam Danhach, head of FTX Middle East and North Africa, per the report.
The cryptocurrency services offered in Dubai will be handled by FTX Exchange FZE, a subsidiary of FTX operating in the European and Middle Eastern markets.