Crypto exchange Coinbase is establishing an international “tokenization hub” in Abu Dhabi, boosting the UAE’s ambitions to become a global center for digital assets. It follows Coinbase winning a license from the emirate’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority to offer tokenized securities, arrange deals, and provide custody services, allowing it to sell to customers with a digital wallet and cutting out the need for brokerage accounts or correspondent banking relationships.
As well as creating a friendly regulatory environment for crypto firms, the UAE is using its sovereign wealth funds to invest in the industry, including a $2 billion investment by MGX in crypto exchange Binance. Coinbase executives are among those expected at a gathering of cryptocurrency and prediction market chiefs at the White House on Wednesday.