Binance has obtained a virtual asset securities provider (VASP) licence from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, allowing its Dubai division to offer services to retail, qualified, and institutional investors. The company plans to introduce new services through lending and borrowing, including virtual asset loans, and expand management and investment options such as ETH staking, BNB Vault, and Launchpool to enhance users’ earning potential.
Previously, Binance held a minimum viable product licence received in July 2023. The licence upgrade was granted after former CEO Changpeng Zhao gave up his voting control in the entity. Zhao stepped down as CEO after a multi-billion dollar settlement with the Department of Justice. He later pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws and is due for sentencing in a US court later this month.
Current CEO Richard Teng views the new licence as evidence of Binance’s commitment to transparency, regulatory compliance, and responsible growth in the digital asset industry.
Meanwhile, Binance converted the assets in its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to Circle’s stablecoin USDC, an emergency insurance fund established in 2018. The fund’s value is set at $1 billion.
“We are transferring 100% of SAFU’s assets to USDC. Making use of a trusted, audited, and transparent stablecoin for SAFU further enhances its reliability and ensures it remains stable at $1 [billion],” Binance said.
Binance’s compliance officer, Tigran Gambaryan, was detained in Nigeria earlier this year and is now in prison. He was not initially arrested, but a Nigerian court later sent him to jail. Binance stated that Gambaryan does not hold decision-making power in the company. Negotiations between Binance and Nigeria remain uncertain, with the White House reportedly working with the US Embassy in Nigeria to resolve the situation.