MidChains Partners With Al Maryah Community Bank to Launch Access to Virtual Assets for Segregated Accounts

In a move that echoes the UAE’s ambition to become a Global Crypto Hub, MidChains, one of the world's first fully regulated Virtual Asset Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTF) and Custodians, and Al Maryah Community Bank, the UAE's first fully integrated Digital Bank, announced that they intend to bring virtual asset trading and custody to the bank’s customers.

Driven by the shared goal to enhance the modern digital investment platforms in the UAE, both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Finance Week to formalize their partnership. Aimed at addressing macroeconomic and financial topics that shape global and regional finance industries, the event served as an apt venue for the signing ceremony.

The partnership with MidChains will enable Al Maryah Community Bank to widen its service offering to help retain existing crypto-curious clients and attract new customers. In turn, the move will see MidChains expand access to its regulated virtual asset exchange amongst the bank’s customers.

Commenting on the partnership, Basil Al Askari, Co-founder & CEO, of MidChains said, “If cryptocurrency is to become mainstream, it is clear that mainstream players will need to be involved. Our partnership with Al Maryah Community bank is a significant milestone for the virtual asset industry. Traditional institutions are working alongside regulated exchanges to expand access to this exciting and innovative new asset class. As one of the only fully licensed exchanges in the world we can offer banks a trusted platform partner with regulatory oversight to provide a feasible way into the virtual asset space for their existing customers and also help the bank attract a whole new type of crypto savvy consumer”.

On the collaboration, Mohammed Wassim Khayata, CEO of Al Maryah Community Bank, stated “We seek to protect users of local trading platforms from any potential risks, in accordance with the regulations of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, and as part of such efforts, we are pleased to cooperate with “MidChains”, one of the first local trading platforms for Virtual Assets that is fully licensed by the Abu Dhabi Global Market, in order to provide safe Escrow accounts that protect investors’ funds and separate them from trading companies’ accounts, thus protecting transfers, transactions, and balances of funds in cryptocurrency trading.

This is the first of many strategic initiatives planned by MidChains to accelerate virtual asset trading within the UAE, and enable bank clients to access our fully regulated virtual assets trading and custody platform in a secure environment.