Bitcoin Suisse, Switzerland’s largest crypto financial services provider, has secured regulatory authorisation in Abu Dhabi, clearing the way for institutional and professional digital asset services across the UAE.
The company announced Tuesday that its regional subsidiary, BTCS (Middle East) Ltd., has received a Financial Services Permission from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market. This authorisation follows a multi-stage licensing process and marks the firm’s first regulated presence in the Middle East.
Founded in Zug in 2013, Bitcoin Suisse currently manages $3.7 billion in crypto assets and ranks as the fourth-largest staking operator worldwide. It employs over 200 staff across Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Bermuda and the UAE.
What the license covers
The ADGM authorisation allows BTCS Middle East to offer institutional-grade custody, trading in approved virtual assets, and digital asset exposure management and hedging services to professional and institutional clients. The firms said it also intends to support clients in accessing tokenised real-world assets as that market grows.
Services will be delivered with a dedicated relationship manager for each client, a structure the firm said reflects its positioning as a wealth management partner rather than a pure exchange or custody platform.
Ceyda Majcen, chief executive of BTCS Middle East, said the authorisation reflects the firm’s track record across multiple market cycles. “Receiving the FSP from the FSRA is a major milestone in our international growth strategy,” Majcen said. “We are excited to bring our unique combination of institutional-grade capabilities and highly personalised service to the UAE, one of the world’s most dynamic hubs for digital assets.”
Abu Dhabi makes institutional push into digital assets
ADGM welcomed the licensing as further evidence of the financial centre’s growing pull for regulated global institutions. Arvind Ramamurthy, chief marketing development officer at ADGM, said the expansion reinforces the strength of the emirate’s digital assets ecosystem.
“Abu Dhabi further strengthens its position as a leading financial hub in the region,” Ramamurthy said. “ADGM remains committed to enabling innovation within a robust, internationally recognised regulatory environment.”
The license means Bitcoin Suisse now joins a growing roster of European institutional crypto firms that have established regulated presence in the UAE over the past two years, as the country’s dual regulatory framework – ADGM’s FSRA in Abu Dhabi and VARA in Dubai – has attracted service providers seeking a compliant gateway to Middle Eastern and Asian capital markets.
