With a VASP licence, Mantra Finance grows in the UAE.
The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai has granted Mantra Finance a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licence. With this milestone, the real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation platform and decentralised finance (DeFi) platform can now better serve institutional investors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the larger Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Strategic Development in the UAE’s Crypto-Friendly Environment
Mantra Finance formally stated on February 19 that it has acquired the VASP license, which enables it to function as a digital asset exchange and offer investment, management, and broker-dealer services.
Because of their well-organised regulatory frameworks, Dubai and the United Arab Emirates have become major global centres for bitcoin and digital asset businesses. John Patrick Mullin, CEO of Mantra, emphasised the importance of Dubai’s regulatory leadership, saying that by creating a thorough structure from the ground up, the city has set a global standard for crypto governance.
Mullin underlined, “This licence was an important step for Mantra and a key milestone in our journey towards global expansion.”
Connecting Traditional Finance and DeFi
Mullin noted that the UAE has promoted a flourishing Web3 ecosystem and commended its clear regulations. Mantra Finance hopes to close the gap between traditional financial systems and decentralised finance by providing institutional investors with regulatory-compliant solutions under the VASP license.
In keeping with its goal of growing the DeFi industry, the company intends to launch a range of financial services tailored for institutional clients and eligible investors in the United Arab Emirates.
Quickening Institutions’ RWA Tokenisation
According to Mullin, Mantra Finance will be able to build compliant financial solutions faster inside its ecosystem thanks to the new licence. Regulatory developments will have a significant impact on the firm’s next emphasis, which he referred to as the “real rollout of RWAs.”
This was made clear last year when significant inflows into Crypto ETFs were facilitated by regulatory authorisation. “Institutional adoption is driven by regulation,” Mullin clarified.
Although institutional investors continue to be the major emphasis, Mantra Finance hopes to open up chances for individual investors to take part in tokenisation in the future. Mullin promised that as accessibility grows, the business will continue to safeguard investors and adhere to regulations.
Creating Alliances to Expand On-Chain Assets
In order to put assets valued at billions of dollars on-chain, Mantra Finance has already started working with important institutional players in the United Arab Emirates. Damac, Libre, MAG, Novus Aviation, and Zand are notable partners.
Mullin said, “We’ll share updates on new projects tokenising assets across various industries, markets, and asset classes by the end of this quarter and into the next.”
Dubai Strengthens Crypto Laws
VARA stepped up its regulatory monitoring of cryptocurrency marketing in 2024 and took action against unregistered digital asset companies.
VARA ordered on September 26 that all advertisements for investments in digital assets must contain explicit disclaimers alerting investors to the volatility of cryptocurrencies. Matthew White, CEO of VARA, emphasised how crucial these steps are to building market trust and transparency.
Seven companies were hit with fines and cease-and-desist letters by the regulator on October 10 for operating without the required licenses and breaking its marketing rules. Each entity was subject to fines ranging from $13,000 to $27,000. VARA did not, however, reveal the identities of the companies that were fined.
In order to establish a more secure and dependable cryptocurrency ecosystem in Dubai, VARA intends to enforce regulatory compliance and take strong action against illicit activity.
