Bitcoin Suisse wins Abu Dhabi permission for institutional crypto services

Bitcoin Suisse Group’s Middle East subsidiary has received a Financial Services Permission from Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority, giving the Swiss crypto services group a regulated route to serve institutional and professional clients in the UAE. The approval extends the firm’s international footprint as it says it safeguards $3.7 billion in crypto assets and ranks as the world’s fourth-largest staking operator.

The permission was granted to BTCS (Middle East) Ltd., known as BTCS ME, according to Bitcoin Suisse. The company said the authorisation followed a multi-stage licensing process at ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s international financial centre.

A Financial Services Permission is the regulatory approval that allows an ADGM-based firm to conduct specified financial services under FSRA supervision. In this case, Bitcoin Suisse said the permission enables BTCS ME to provide regulated digital asset financial services to institutional and professional clients in the United Arab Emirates.

The company said the UAE offering will include infrastructure for managing and hedging digital asset exposure, institutional-grade custody and trading in approved virtual assets. Bitcoin Suisse also said clients will be supported by dedicated relationship managers.

Custody is a central part of institutional digital asset services because it covers the safekeeping and operational control of crypto assets, including the systems and processes used to hold and transfer them. Trading in approved virtual assets under a regulated framework gives eligible clients access to digital asset markets through a supervised entity, rather than through an unregulated venue.

Bitcoin Suisse said the Abu Dhabi authorisation builds on more than a decade of operating through digital asset market cycles. The group described the permission as part of its effort to expand beyond Switzerland and become a broader wealth management partner for clients using crypto assets.

BTCS ME is led by Ceyda Majcen, chief executive officer and SEO of the unit, according to Bitcoin Suisse. Majcen said the FSRA authorisation was “a major milestone” in the group’s international growth strategy and cited the firm’s work on infrastructure, risk frameworks and client relationships.

ADGM also framed the approval as part of Abu Dhabi’s broader effort to attract digital asset firms. Arvind Ramamurthy, chief market development officer at ADGM, said Bitcoin Suisse’s move into the financial centre “reinforces the strength and maturity” of its digital assets ecosystem and pointed to demand from global institutions for regulatory clarity and market access.

Bitcoin Suisse said BTCS ME may also support client access to tokenized real-world assets in the future as the market develops. Tokenized real-world assets generally refer to digital representations of assets that exist outside crypto markets, although Bitcoin Suisse did not provide details on products, timing or asset classes.

The authorisation places Bitcoin Suisse among international crypto firms using Abu Dhabi as a regulated base for institutional services. The company did not disclose financial terms, staffing levels or client targets for the UAE business.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.