Three Arrows Capital hedge fund moves to crypto-friendly Dubai

Three Arrows Capital, a crypto hedge fund, moves its headquarters from Singapore to Dubai as the UAE is gradually replacing Singapore as a crypto mecca. Bybit, Binance, Kraken, and FTX are setting up offices in the UAE as crypto migrates from traditional far eastern financial centers.

Lately, the UAE continues to market itself as a crypto-friendly destination through the slew of recent crypto licensures, Three Arrows’ co-founder Su Zhu.

“The energy in Dubai’s digital asset industry is electric right now. I’m looking forward to meeting more technology startups,” he said, confirming Three Arrows’ migration to the new crypto hub.

Recently, one of the world’s biggest crypto exchange Binance received approvals to operate in Dubai, Bahrain, and the UAE.

Meanwhile, Kraken won a license to serve as a virtual asset trade platform by the Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Registration Authority last week.

Another major crypto exchange Bybit also moved its headquarters from Singapore to Dubai, just as Crypto.com announced the establishment of a regional nerve center there, while FTX’s regional office for the Middle East will be there.

“I am very impressed with the vision of Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority,” says one of the founders of Three Arrows Capital, Kyle Samani. “I expect many leading firms to continue to move to Dubai and contribute to the growing digital asset ecosystem.”

Lately, the UAE is gradually replacing Singapore as an Asian crypto mecca. As most of the 170 crypto companies applying for a license to operate in Singapore denied, Dubai now poses to make inroads into business areas previously attracted to Far Eastern financial hubs.

Originally, Singapore opened itself up to crypto firms in January 2022 but has now banned companies from advertising to the public. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has added crypto firms to an Investor Alert List, a group of entities described as “unregulated persons who, based on information received by MAS, may have been wrongly perceived as being licensed or regulated by the MAS.”

Last September, Binance was placed on the list for allegedly violating the Singaporean Payment Services Act by soliciting business from Singaporean residents.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore wants to oversee a “responsible” crypto hub that delicately balances the need for regulation with the support of innovation – a balancing act alluded to by MAS managing director Ravi Menon earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Dubai recently ratified new laws designed to position itself as a prominent jurisdiction when it comes to cryptocurrencies and related concepts like Web3 and the metaverse.