The suspension does not however impact BitOasis’ ability to provide broker dealer services to existing retail users.
VARA, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, released a market alert statement on June 10 confirming enforcement action against crypto exchange BitOasis.
The noticed outlined that BitOasis was issued a conditional MVP Licence on April 12 permitting it to operate on “key conditions” over 30-60 day timeframes. The exchange however failed to meet these conditions, resulting in a licence suspension.
The operating conditions referred to by VARA were not specified.
“In light of the above,” the statement read, “the entity’s Licence for Institutional and Qualified Retail Investors remains ‘non-operational’, until aforementioned conditions subsequent are fulfilled, in order for BitOasis to apply for the Full Market Product [FMP] Licence.”
VARA stated it will continue to monitor the situation for regulatory compliance and the fulfilment of remedial actions imposed on BitOasis.
BitOasis first launched in 2016 and was the first crypto exchange to obtain an operational license in crypto-friendly Dubai in March 2022.
In a June 11 blog post, the exchange addressed the ongoing situation with VARA, clarifying that the suspension does not impact its ability to provide broker dealer services to existing retail users. This is because the Operational MVP License covers institutional and qualified investors, which the exchange is yet to serve.
BitOasis will not however onboard any new clients until they are in a position of full compliance with VARA.
“We are committed to continuing our close collaboration with VARA. We knew that taking the lead in the ecosystem will come with its unique challenges, and we are glad to be tackling them in close cooperation with our regulator,” the exchange stated.
The UAE is a crypto-tolerant nation, having opened the world’s first digital asset freezone earlier this year. Bybit, Crypto.com, Binance and Crypto.com have all obtained Dubai’s MVP licence.
Disclaimer: CryptoPlug does not recommend that any cryptocurrency should be bought, sold, or held by you. Do conduct your own due diligence and consult your financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
