Dubai’s digital assets regulator said cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has been operating without the necessary regulatory approvals and licenses, and must cease and desist from providing services to customers in the region.
“Kucoin does not have any license to provide virtual asset services in/from Dubai. Any activity related to Virtual Assets advertised or carried out by this company violates the VARA Regulations,” the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) said in a statement.
“Any promotion, advertising or solicitation related to Kucoin has not been approved by VARA and therefore the company cannot offer, promote or market any virtual asset products or services in Dubai or its residents,” the regulator added, advising consumers and investors in Dubai to avoid interacting with Kucoin.
The alert comes just weeks after Austria’s financial regulator banned KuCoin’s European arm from conducting new business and onboarding clients due to a lack of adequate compliance staff.
A few months earlier, Austria’s financial regulator FMA granted KuCoin a Markets for Crypto Assets (MiCA) permit to operate throughout the European Union.
KuCoin, a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange founded in China in 2017, is now one of the largest offshore crypto platforms, ranking in the top 10 by trading volume.
