US-Based Crypto Exchange ‘Kraken’ Steps Into Middle East, Bitcoin Falls

Kraken, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange has expanded into the Middle East and will open its regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi after obtaining a full license to operate a regulated trading platform in the UAE (United Arab Emirates), CNBC reported. 

“We’re incredibly excited to be able to set up our operations right in the ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market) itself to operate a virtual asset platform that finally offers Dirham pairs for investors in the region,” Curtis Ting, managing director of Kraken for Europe, Middle East and Africa, told CNBC. 

Incidentally, with this development, Kraken will become the first cryptocurrency exchange to present direct funding and trading in UAE a against Bitcoin (BTC), Ether and a range of other virtual assets, after attaining regulatory approval from the ADGM and Financial Services Regulatory Authority for its local launch.

Elsewhere, Unicas, a crypto financial institution with physical branches, has announced the opening of a branch in Janakpuri, in New Delhi. Unicas has created a one-stop solution platform to invest, earn, and borrow cryptocurrencies. Earlier they had launched a branch at Connaught Place in central Delhi in February. The brand is now expanding in other parts of the capital, starting with the new branch in Janakpuri. 

Says Kumar Gaurav, founder & CEO of Cashaa, a crypto bank: “Contrary to the popular speculations in regard to crypto, we have witnessed a handsome response for the physical branches. We noted how this has helped us to facilitate awareness on technology and innovation, along with introducing the finest banking infrastructure. We aspire to take this way ahead, and the new branch is the step in the same direction.” 

Crypto Prices

The price of Bitcoin in the cryptocurrency market fell by 2.94 per cent in the last 24 hours, and it was trading at $38,661.16 at 4:45 pm IST. Its dominance in the crypto market is currently at 41.27 per cent, up by 0.32 per cent in the last 24 hours, according to Coinmarketcap.com. 

In the last 24 hours, Ethereum (ETH) was trading at $2,838.43, down by 3.63 per cent, while Binance Coin (BNB) fell 3.23 per cent in the same period, and was trading at $389.71. Solana (SOL) was down by 5.53 per cent to $96.05, while Cardano (ADA) was down by 4.58 per cent to $0.8508. 

Meme Coins

Among meme coins, Dogecoin was down by 4.24 per cent, and it was trading at $0.1285 at 4:45 pm on Coinmarketcap.com. Its rival, Shiba Inu, was down by 4.63 per cent, and it was trading at $0.00002305. Samoyedcoin was down by 7.71 per cent, and was trading at $0.01657, while Dogelon Mars was down by 7.71 per cent, and was trading at $0.0000009612. 

Overall Scenario

According to Coinmarketcap.com, the global crypto market cap was at $1.78 trillion, a decrease of 3.69 per cent in the last 24 hours, while the total crypto market volume was $76.88 billion, up by 51.42 per cent. 

ELON BUYS TWITTER (EBT) became the biggest gainer, recording a rise of 1,831.75 per cent. It was trading at $0.0000005107 at 4:45 pm, according to Coinmarketcap. In contrast, Seesaw (SSW) witnessed the maximum loss, falling 95.39 per cent. It was trading at $0.01407.