Deribit Eyes Dubai Amidst Global Expansion Plans: Report

Crypto exchange Deribit is planning to move its main headquarters to Dubai as soon as the third quarter of this year. The Bloomberg report suggests that the new office will be staffed by a team of 10 people comprising both domestic hires alongside the exchange’s core employees.

Roles in management, compliance, and support will be housed in the Dubai office.

• According to Deribit Chief Legal, Compliance, and Regulatory Officer David Dohmen, some employees will continue to be based in Panama.
• Dohmen was quoted saying that the regulatory regime in Dubai is more tailored to crypto than other jurisdictions.

“We’ve had a number of clients who basically intimated to us that they would like to trade on a crypto exchange that’s actually regulated. In Panama, we are not regulated. Also, we also saw where the regulatory winds were blowing, and there was a drive toward regulation across the globe.”

• The exec also said Deribit seeks to submit an application and supporting documents for a Full Market Product license to Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority once it receives regulatory clarity from the agency.
• Deribit has operations in Amsterdam as well, while its Netherlands-based parent company and related subsidiaries currently have 95 employees across the world.
• The news comes after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) introduced a new regulation that governs digital assets, a move that established the country’s initial regulatory regime for the cryptocurrency space at the federal level.
• Dubai also established its own crypto regulator – the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) – which the industry insiders believe would act as a major catalyst for both global and regional Web3 companies to enter or expand their operations in the next few months.
• The city has become home to multiple crypto exchanges, including Binance, Crypto.com, OKX, and others.