Bybit, the world's third most visited crypto exchange and second-largest in the Mena region, on Monday opened its global headquarters in Dubai and plans to recruit 100 people.
With 15 million users globally, Bybit is one of the first exchange services to obtain in-principle approval from the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) to operate in Dubai. it also expects to get the full licence in the second quarter of this year.
“We're going to start hiring massively here in the UAE and the region. We've already talked to universities to host hackathons and provide internships for the local kids, said Ben Zhou, CEO and co-founder of Bybit.
In addition to moving around 80 people from Singapore and Hong Kong to Dubai, the company will hire to expand its marketing, community, and business development, as well as other departments.
He said Dubai is becoming increasingly a good choice because literally all of the crypto companies have a presence here.
The company said it's on track to double its trading volume in the Mena region this year.
Dubai has attracted some of the world's biggest companies in cryptocurrencies including Crypto.com, Hex Trust among others.
The emirate is the third-largest crypto market in the Middle East Africa South Asia (MEASA) and hundreds of crypto-related events are organized in the emirate every year.
In order to attract the best talent, the Dubai government last year announced a Golden Visa for 100,000 coders to improve the availability of talent in the local market to expedite the growth of technology sectors and meet the demand for human resources from the new-age technology companies.
In February, VARA issued a comprehensive virtual asset framework built on principles of economic sustainability and cross-border financial security.
“The digital economy is advancing at incredible speed and crypto and blockchain technology will be the mainstay and the connective tissues. As one of the most progressive digital assets hubs in Mena and the world, Dubai is optimally positioned to capture the opportunities in the sector by bringing together state-of-the-art tech and infrastructure, international talent and vision,” said Ben Zhou, CEO and co-founder of Bybit.