Ripple Sheds Light on “Regulatory Climate” of UAE and the Measured Legal Outlook

There has been a lot of volatility experienced in the regulatory atmosphere over the last year around the world. However, Ripple recently gave an update to their customers about the Ripple Regional event, which was based in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The individuals on the panel discussed a possible new approach with the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (AGDM), which would provide a little more balance.

Sagar Sarbhai, the Head of Government & Regulatory Affairs for APAC, noted that there is a shift in the attitude of regulators for cryptocurrency. Before now, there was more of a “wait and see” approach to determine how to deal with this asset, which quickly became a more fearful and uncertain way of handling the regulations, which resulted in more aggressive approaches.

By finding balance between these two sides, places like Thailand and other countries have eliminated their bans, choosing more welcoming rules to urge along innovation without losing the protection needed for stakeholders. By taking on this approach, the environment for regulatory measures has beneficial for the growth of the market.

Simon O’Brien from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) is one of the team members responsible to creating the regulations for the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Ultimately, the goal of this team is to create the infrastructure that will go past the normal issues, like anti-money laundering standards. As Ripple’s latest Insight article says, much of the attention will be on “practical needs,” like “market abuse, transparency, and reporting.”

The CEO of BitOasis, Ola Doudin, supports this approach, noting that the long-term potential of the crypto market will ultimately be realized by going further than just the price of the assets included.

In order to follow along with this necessity, the CEO added that the company is developing the new rules with the support of ADGM, though she praised the FSRA team for their decision to be forward-thinking in their framework.

Panelists Simon O’Brien of FSRA and @odoudin of @bitoasis explore the new @ADGlobalMarket regulatory framework for UAE on stage with Ripple's @sagarsarbhai. https://t.co/Ce0jqKPFjI pic.twitter.com/LkzignCtZE

— Ripple (@Ripple) May 29, 2019

Now, BitOasis is trying to establish itself as the first regulated exchange in the region by the time the year ends.

While global cooperation is a priority of ADGM, O’Brien pointed out that this is hardly the only fixation of the organization. It is presently working with several regional entities, including the UAE Central Bank, as the FSRA works to introduce the bank and others to the new framework. Rather than just regulating the various exchanges, O’Brien added that the licensing of the firms plays a role as well, giving them similar validity to a bank.

Overall, taking this refined approach will hopefully improve the credibility of the crypto market, leaving banks, investors, and other stakeholders with more confidence in it. Doudin concludes that everything will come down to “risk and reward,” though the infrastructure will hopefully be designed in a way that both sides feel comfortable with this wager.

Presently, Ripple’s XRP token is trading at $0.449539, rising by 0.5% in the last 24 hours.