Kraken Mena, the regional arm of the digital asset exchange, has partnered with Abu Dhabi-based Rakbank to offer UAE residents the ability to trade virtual assets in their own currency.
As an institution regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE, the partnership with Rakbank will enable Kraken’s UAE-based clients to fund their crypto trading through fund transfers from their local bank accounts.
The alliance comes after Kraken became the first global firm to be granted a licence from the Abu Dhabi Global Market to operate a virtual asset exchange platform.
Up to now, UAE residents have been forced to use correspondent banks based overseas when trading virtual assets, a process which incurs foreign exchange fees and is subject to overseas-jurisdiction asset governance.
“The UAE is emerging as a global hub for the crypto and virtual assets industry,” said Raheel Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of Rakbank.
“We are pleased to support the UAE’s vision of becoming a global hub for virtual assets. We believe this offering will enable a simpler, faster and cheaper solution for UAE residents,” added Ahmed.
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