Circle has received approval for a license from the Abu Dhabi regulator
This will allow the issuer of the second-largest stablecoin to operate within the local free economic zone
29.04.2025 - 15:30
707
2 min
0
What’s new? Circle, the issuer of the second-largest stablecoin USDC with a capitalization of $61,99 billion, has received in-principle approval from the Abu Dhabi regulator, allowing it to expand its business in the Middle East. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) granted the preliminary approval of a free economic zone called the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
What else is known? According to the regulator’s decision, Circle will be able to operate as a money service provider once it receives a full license. The company started integrating into the local financial hub in December 2024.
The company also announced a partnership with local organization Hub71, which is responsible for initiatives in the ADGM digital regulatory sandbox, awarding grants to startups and providing access to institutional networks.
Circle did not comment on further plans in the region due to a “quiet period” following its US stock exchange filing.
Circle previously became the first major issuer of stablecoins to begin complying with the EU-wide Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. Last month, it launched USDC in Japan with SBI Holdings, and last week it unveiled a cross-border payment network to incentivize the use of stablecoins further.
Coinbase is exploring the possibility of obtaining a banking license in the United States
Circle, Paxos, and BitGo have similar plans
Late last year, the UAE’s largest bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, in partnership with the Libre Capital platform, launched a program to issue secured loans on the blockchain using tokenized real-world assets such as securities.
Useful material?
Telegram 
Twitter Incidents
The Digital Crime Task Force will look for suspicious transfers on the Tron network and help police freeze funds before they are moved out.
Nov 12, 2026
Incidents
In a single week, hackers went after PHP websites, the Railway cloud platform and a medical company, and experts started talking about a crisis that is only just beginning.
Oct 28, 2026
Incidents
In 104 minutes, the attacker emptied 1,404 addresses before validators halted the network and froze almost all of the loot.
Oct 19, 2026
Incidents
Developers warned of potential risks to bridges across the ecosystem and asked exchanges for assistance.
Jun 22, 2026
Incidents
The defendant helped move funds stolen through investment scams and earned at least $4 million for his role in the operation.
Jun 10, 2026
Incidents
The company is linking the incident to a compromised private key on a service wallet, rather than a smart contract exploit
May 22, 2026
Cryptocurrency rates
-
Bitcoin
$64 513
BTC
-2.24%
-
Ethereum
$1 812.49
ETH
-1.73%
-
Ripple
$1.42
XRP
+1.04%
-
BNB Smart Chain
$590.54
BSC
-0.16%
-
TRON
$0.305196
TRX
-0.59%
-
Zcash
$898.05
ZEC
+3.2%
-
Dogecoin
$0.058657
DOGE
-3.11%
-
Cardano
$0.218269
ADA
+2.11%
-
Stellar XLM
$0.184461
XLM
+2.83%
-
Polkadot
$3.32
DOT
+5.27%