Head of Dubai Crypto Regulator to Quit to 'Pursue Other Interests'

The CEO of Dubai's crypto regulator, Henson Orser, is set to be replaced by Matthew White, a partner at PwC, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) said in an email.

Bloomberg reported the change earlier, citing a statement from the regulator.

Additionally, more than 12 crypto companies are set to be fined for not complying with guidelines by a Nov. 17 deadline, Bloomberg said, citing anonymous sources who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The names of the firms were not mentioned, but don't include Binance, OKX or ByBit and some others, which will be given more time to comply, according to the report. In its email, VARA did not comment on the fines.

The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority has been run by Orser since January. He will remain fully engaged for a "planned transition" as a consultant, VARA said.

“It was a great experience and I’m fully vested in a consultative capacity to support VARA,” Orser said to Bloomberg. “I’m leaving to pursue other interests.” Orser did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CoinDesk.

White has previously worked with VARA as a consultant and has headed the Cybersecurity and Digital Trust team at PwC.

In the past few weeks, Dubai has fined crypto bankruptcy claims exchange OPNX and its founders, who also set up the failed hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), and has awarded regulatory approvals to Crypto.com, Nomura-backed crypto custody firm Komainu, and Hex Trust, another custody firm.

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