Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 17 February 2023: Digital Prime Brokerage, GCEX MENA, part of the GCEX Group, has received its MVP Preparatory license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) following the issuance of its provisional licence in April 2022.
GCEX MENA, which launched in July 2022 with the opening of its Dubai office, enables brokers, hedge funds, family offices and professional traders to access deep liquidity in digital assets and offers a range of technology solutions. The MVP Preparatory licence means that GCEX MENA, as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), can now set up to undertake the required steps to be ready to start market operations in the Emirate of Dubai.
Mehtap Önder, Managing Director, GCEX MENA, commented, “VARA is leading the way in the global digital asset industry, and we are proud to be amongst the first firms to receive an MVP Preparatory licence from VARA. Being a regulated entity in the region is important to us – it’s the ideal way to demonstrate our commitment to strictly complying with international standards, implementing robust processes, transparency and focusing on investor protection in the industry.”
“We are now in the process of finalising the last steps to fulfil VARA’s requirements to receive a Full Market Product (FMP) licence. We believe this license will fuel significant growth for us and enable us to have a stronger presence in the region.”
Henson Orser, Chief Executive Officer, VARA said, “We are pleased to have GCEX as part of the preparatory phase of the VARA MVP Programme. The MVP Phase, exclusive to select global and responsible players like GCEX will allow VARA to establish regulatory standards that offer cross-border interoperability with consumer protection at its core. GCEX have demonstrated a strong commitment to regulation and we look forward to their continued collaboration and support.”
GCEX facilitates institutional access to digital assets through its ‘Crypto In A Box’ plug and play trading solution which comprises of a technology-agnostic platform covering regulation, regulated custody, safety of funds, tier 1 liquidity and technology (both backend and frontend). GCEX only partners with regulated institutional digital custody providers and always segregates client funds.
GCEX Group has a rapidly growing global client base and offices in London, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai. It is regulated by the UK’s FCA and the Danish FSA and has secured investment from TGV4 Plus.
This market notice is being issued by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to highlight to all industry stakeholders, and consumers that the deadline for VA sector entities to engage in the regulatory licence application process has now elapsed. As formally announced on 05.November further to multiple advisories since Q2-2023, entities operating within the virtual asset domain were required to commence procedural engagement with VARA on/or before 17.November.2023.