Paxos Secures Approval to Issue Stablecoins in Abu Dhabi

Paxos has been granted an in-principle approval (IPA) by the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to introduce stablecoins to the United Arab Emirates.

The crypto infrastructure firm announced this development and claimed that it will soon be able to begin issuing US dollar-backed stablecoins and conduct "crypto-brokerage and custody" services in the region. Paxos currently issues the USDP stablecoin.

The FSRA is a financial regulator in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). This event follows an earlier and similar decision in the Asian crypto sphere, this time from Singaporean regulators who recently approved the introduction of U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins to the country, alongside revisions to regulatory frameworks for stablecoins issued the country's central bank.

This latest development was seen positively by Paxos' Head of Strategy, Walter Hessert, who shared that the development "marks yet another milestone in Paxos’ ability to provide billions of users with safe and trusted digital asset services."

"Our IPAs from the FSRA, on the heels of our IPA from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, solidify our commitment to pursuing international growth through regulated frameworks. Paxos is unique in the industry for this approach and we will continue expanding our regulatory licensing to serve global enterprises as a trusted, innovative partner," Hessert added.

Established sometime 2012, Paxos has been a noted pioneer of the crypto sector, first as a brokerage and then as a tokenization platform. More recently, Paxos is known for being the issuer of the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin as well as Paypal's own PYUSD, which launched last August.

However, because of its issues with the United States' Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over Binance and the BUSD coin, it seems the platform has found potential pastures elsewhere in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Earlier in August, Binance announced that it will be winding down support for the Paxos-issued stablecoin.

The UAE, and Abu Dhabi, in particular, has been a growing hub for cryptocurrency lately. The country has established clear and rigorous regulations for cryptocurrency and in 2022, has even created a committee devoted solely to crypto concerns.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.