Tether and Circle Expand Presence in the UAE

Tether and Circle gain regulatory approval in Abu Dhabi Global Market.

The companies Tether and Circle have announced they have received regulatory approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

Tether reported that its stablecoin USDT has been recognized as an “Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token” (AFRT). This new status applies to the asset across networks such as Aptos, Celo, Cosmos, Kaia, NEAR, Polkadot, Tezos, TON, and TRON.

Previously, the regulator had approved USDT based on Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche. Now, institutions licensed in ADGM are authorized to conduct operations with the “stablecoin” on nearly all supported blockchains.

The company’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, described this as a step towards strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position as a global financial hub.

Circle has obtained a Financial Services Permission (FSP) license. This document allows the firm to operate as a money transfer operator.

Simultaneously, the platform issuing USDC appointed Dr. Saeeda Jaffar as Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa region. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President at Visa in the Gulf countries. Jaffar will focus on developing partnerships with local banks and implementing payment solutions.

On December 8, Binance also announced it had received a license in this jurisdiction.

The exchange’s CEO, Richard Teng, called the event a significant milestone.

This is an important milestone for Binance. We have become the 1st global exchange to secure a comprehensive regulatory approval from a world respected regulator — FSRA @ADGlobalMarket — to have its global operations and liquidity supervised end-to-end.

Earning a full FSRA… https://t.co/vXStBcwFNh

— Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng) December 8, 2025

“We have become the first global exchange to achieve comprehensive approval from FSRA. Now our global operations and liquidity are under full end-to-end supervision,” he stated.

According to Teng, obtaining the license confirms the reliability of the business foundation and the commitment to creating the most transparent platform. He added that this decision strengthens the commitment to “responsible innovation” and the mission to attract a billion users to the industry.

The expansion into the Middle East occurs amid a shift in market balance in Europe. According to a Decta report, the main growth in capitalization in the euro stablecoin segment is currently driven by Circle (EURC), while Tether’s share has decreased.

Back in August, Arkham analysts reported that the United Arab Emirates holds approximately 6,300 BTC.