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Dubai authorities ban operations of crypto exchange KuCoin
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) announced that the cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin and its affiliated entities are operating in the emirate without a license. The regulator demanded that the trading platform immediately cease its virtual asset operations.
Four legal entities were identified by the regulator: Phoenixfin Pte, MEK Global, Peken Global, and KuCoin Exchange EU, all operating under the KuCoin brand. According to VARA, these companies provide services to residents of Dubai without authorization and allegedly mislead users regarding their licensed status.
KuCoin does not hold a license to provide virtual asset services not only in Dubai but across the entire United Arab Emirates (UAE). Any form of promotion of the platform — including advertising, marketing, and offering services to local users — was not approved by the authorities. The activities of KuCoin were declared to violate local legislation that has required virtual asset operators to obtain a license since 2022.
Officials from VARA warned investors about the risks of interacting with unlicensed crypto platforms. According to the regulator, such activities may lead not only to financial losses but also to legal consequences, including potential violations of criminal law.
The move by the Dubai regulator followed actions taken by the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA). In February, the regulator restricted the onboarding of new clients by KuCoin EU, citing violations of anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.
Representatives of KuCoin’s European division stated that the company voluntarily suspended the registration of new users in the EU and halted part of its trading operations in order to align business processes with local regulations.
Earlier, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) imposed the largest fine in its history on Peken Global, KuCoin’s parent company. The fine amounts to 19.6 million Canadian dollars (approximately $14.09 million).
See also: "Kraken launches a platform for trading tokenized Apple and Nvidia shares"
