Toronto’s 3iQ is one step closer to running a regulated business in Abu Dhabi. Its UAE sister company, 3iQ Middle East Ltd, just picked up in principle approval for a Category 4 license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
This comes on the back of a tie up with Further, a UAE digital asset investment manager. Together they let institutional investors into crypto through QMAP, 3iQ’s Managed Account Platform, which has already pulled in $100 million in seed money linked to sovereign investors.
3iQ wants a regulated presence in every big digital asset hub so accredited investors anywhere can buy its products. Worth remembering, this is the firm behind the first Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs on a major stock exchange.
Rachel Pether runs the Middle East side. She came over in 2023 after nearly ten years in Mubadala’s Capital Markets and Treasury team, and before that she advised SkyBridge Capital.
“3iQ has been a huge believer in the UAE as a key digital asset hub with an advanced regulatory regime that protects investors,” said Pascal St-Jean, who heads both 3iQ and Coincheck Group.
From the regulator’s side, ADGM Chief Market Development Officer Arvind Ramamurthy called it “an important step in its journey to establishing a regulated presence in ADGM.”
3iQ sits under Coincheck Group N.V., which trades on Nasdaq as CNCK.
Herald View
Let’s be clear. In principle approval lets 3iQ keep going. It doesn’t let it operate yet, even if the announcement reads like the finish line. The real asset here is Pether’s sovereign wealth network, and that $100 million seed proves it can raise money. What counts is whether the license turns those relationships into a bigger institutional book that keeps growing. So watch two things over the next year: the final FSRA license, and QMAP assets climbing well past the seed. Get both, and the Gulf bet is paying off.
