Coinbase has been granted a Financial Services Regulatory Authority license in Abu Dhabi's ADGM financial center, covering custody and arranging deals in investments for tokenized securities. The license does not yet have a launch date, and current terms restrict voting rights for certain token holders. The approval represents one of the most substantive regulated tokenized securities mandates granted to a major U.S. crypto exchange in a Gulf jurisdiction.
For Armada's crypto desk, this matters because Middle Eastern family offices and institutional holders are a target counterparty segment, and Coinbase's ADGM presence may funnel tokenized asset flow through ADGM-custodied structures. Armada's custody policy relies on Fireblocks, and any collateral originating from Coinbase-custodied ADGM accounts requires a clear custody transfer or sub-custody review before acceptance.