Okto, the self-custodial wallet developed by Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX, has received its operational license from the Ras Al Khaimah Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO) in the United Arab Emirates.
The license allows Okto to legally operate in the UAE, making it the first Web3 wallet to secure such a license in the country’s dedicated digital assets free zone.
Okto, a multichain decentralized finance (DeFi) wallet, is fully owned by a subsidiary of DCX Global, a Mauritius-based holding company established in July 2023. The platform offers a keyless, self-custody wallet for managing digital assets.
Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founder of CoinDCX and Okto, stated that obtaining the license will “enhance the trust and confidence” of their community and help accelerate Web3 adoption among mainstream audiences.
Established in 2023, the RAK DAO is an economic free zone in the UAE dedicated to virtual assets, blockchain, Web3, and artificial intelligence. It supports service providers working on emerging technologies such as the metaverse, wallets, non-fungible tokens, and other Web3 businesses.
CoinDCX’s expansion in the UAE
This development follows CoinDCX’s ongoing efforts to expand in the UAE. On July 3, CoinDCX acquired UAE-based crypto exchange BitOasis. Despite the acquisition, BitOasis will continue to operate independently under its existing licenses.
This takeover follows CoinDCX’s strategic investment in BitOasis in August 2023. The deal, whose value has not been disclosed, offers users access to a broader range of crypto assets, increased liquidity, and an improved trading experience.
CoinDCX, which operates an aggregator of cryptocurrency trading services, claims to have versatile financial instruments and deep order books targeting a variety of trading use-cases.
BitOasis recently secured a license from the Central Bank of Bahrain in June, expanding its presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This follows the MVP Operational License it received from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority last year.
Established in 2018, CoinDCX has over 15 million customers and generates average quarterly trading volumes of $840 million. The company is backed by investors such as Pantera Capital, Polychain Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, and Coinbase Ventures.
Founded in 2016, BitOasis has processed over $6 billion in trading volume and raised more than $40 million from investors, including Jump Capital and Pantera Capital.
