Chainalysis, a blockchain intelligence platform, has inaugurated its headquarters for Southern Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and Africa in Dubai.
This move follows three years of exponential growth in the region for the company, as it has established itself as the leading provider of crypto investigation, Web3 growth and crypto risk solutions to government and private sector entities.
Chainalysis provides data, software, services and research to government agencies, virtual asset service providers, financial institutions and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 70 countries. The company’s data has helped solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases involving North Korean hacking, ransomware, darknet market activity and more, resulting in seizures of more than US$10B by law enforcement agencies.
In support of the UAE’s push to be a global crypto hub, Chainalysis has been actively engaging with key government stakeholders to offer guidance and best practices for the development of the regulations and frameworks necessary to foster a thriving crypto ecosystem. This includes partnering with the UAE’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications to set up a Centre of Excellence that helps government employees upskill on blockchain technologies. Most recently, Chainalysis signed an MoU with Emirates NBD to support the banking leader’s Digital Asset Lab program.
“The UAE government has spearheaded the crypto revolution with forward-focused regulations, and business-friendly policies. At Chainalysis, we have been actively driving the maturity of the region’s crypto ecosystem in line with the latest developments across the globe,” said Michael Gronager, CEO at Chainalysis.
“The true potential and value of cryptocurrencies lies in their ability to transfer value, and we’re seeing an upward trend of overall transfer activity. Utilisation is the underlying success story of the industry, and the UAE is strongly positioned to lead innovation with novel use cases that deliver tangible value to consumers and businesses.”
With the opening of its Dubai office, Chainalysis is establishing new regional headquarters which support other emerging and fast-growth markets including India, Africa and Central Asia. The company aims to recruit skilled professionals specialising in traditional finance, regulatory compliance and Web3.0 technologies to operate from its Dubai headquarters.
Nicola Buonanno, VP Southern EMEA at Chainalysis, said: “The UAE market is at a tipping point, with institutional-sized transfers now accounting for the lion’s share of the country’s crypto activity. The need for our investigation, compliance, market intelligence and data solutions is greater than ever. The inauguration of our regional headquarters in Dubai, UAE signals our commitment to delivering not only the technologies, but the knowledge and support local entities need to capitalise on this tremendous opportunity.”
