Binance obtains Dubai VASP license, Bloomberg reports CZ giving up voting control for approval

According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, after Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) agreed to relinquish voting control over local entities, Binance's subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates, Binance FZE, has finally obtained the long-awaited VASP license from the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).

Binance Obtains Dubai VASP License

Binance's current CEO, Richard Teng, confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Thursday that Binance has obtained a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in the United Arab Emirates.

According to previous reports, Binance's subsidiary in the UAE, Binance FZE, announced last July that it had obtained an operational MVP license from the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). The operational MVP is a transitional phase before obtaining full VASP authorization. After three quarters of effort, Binance finally obtained the official VASP license.

The previous operational MVP allowed Binance to provide services to institutions and qualified investors, while the VASP license also opens the door to retail cryptocurrency trading. Its competitor, Crypto.com, had already obtained the license earlier in March.

CZ Relinquishes Voting Control of Binance FZE

According to Bloomberg citing sources, one of the final steps that VARA required before granting Binance the VASP license was for Zhao Changpeng (CZ) to relinquish his voting control of the Dubai entity, Binance FZE. Officials reportedly wanted to ensure that Dubai would not deviate from the agreements Binance had reached with U.S. authorities, which had led to CZ being forced to step down as CEO according to the agreement.

Sources stated that after resolving the voting control issue with CZ, Binance and VARA completed a comprehensive review of the products the exchange offers in Dubai. However, CZ remains the ultimate beneficial owner of Binance FZE's parent company based in Abu Dhabi.

Binance has faced a series of regulatory setbacks over the past two years, ultimately agreeing to pay a $4.3 billion fine in November to the U.S. CZ, after admitting to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations, is awaiting sentencing at the end of this month in the U.S.

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