Dubai Slams Middle East Crypto Exchange BitOasis For Not Meeting Mandated Conditions: Report

Dubai’s local regulator said BitOasis is under review for not meeting mandated conditions, which are required to undertake any VARA-regulated market activity.

Dubai slammed and reprimanded BitOasis, which is one the largest customer-centric crypto platforms in the Middle East region, for not following the mandated conditions required to operate in the country by the local regulator, reported Bloomberg on Tuesday. The Emirate’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) on Monday said it gave out a market alert after starting an enforcement action against BitOasis. Officials also said their further actions could also include revoking the license of BitOasis and restricting their operations. Dubai, which is emerging as the world crypto hub, has been emphasising the tightening of the license scrutiny after last year's collapse of the FTX crypto exchange.

According to Bloomberg News, the local regulator said, “BitOasis is under review for not meeting mandated conditions, required to be satisfied within 30-60 day timeframes before being permitted to undertake any VARA-regulated market activity.”

Moreover, Dubai has also been asking for more information from multiple applicants such as the world’s largest digital-asset exchange Binance. The current move by the VARA means that the crypto landscape in Dubai will witness stricter rules and regulations shortly.

Meanwhile, a BitOasis spokesperson said they are already collaborating with the regulator to meet all the requirements and conditions successfully. The spokesperson said that the organisation is “committed to providing a safe and secure service to its users.”

Earlier in April also, VARA had issued a written reprimand to the co-founders of the crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital Kyle Davies and Su Zhu. The regulator also sent reprimanding letters to Mark Lamb, Sudhu Arumugam and Leslie Lamb in connection with digital-asset exchange OPNX’s activities.

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