MGX invests $2 billion in Binance to build dominance in crypto

Having set leadership in the emerging realm of digital assets as a national goal, the UAE is extending its embrace of Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange.

MGX, the tech investment fund created by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund and G42 artificial intelligence firm, announced on Wednesday that it has invested $2 billion in the company, which was founded in China and has about 1,000 employees working in Dubai.

When Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, pleaded guilty to U.S. money laundering charges last year and spent several months in prison, he was replaced as CEO by Richard Teng, previously head of Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Authority,

“MGX’s investment in Binance reflects our commitment to advancing blockchain’s transformative potential for digital finance,” Ahmed Yahia, Managing Director and CEO of MGX, said in a statement.

MGX, which was established a year ago, has also invested in OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI. The firm is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE’s national security adviser, who is also Chairman of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds ADQ and ADIA.

The Dubai Financial Services Authority, meanwhile, announced that San Francisco-based crypto payments developer Ripple Labs received regulatory approval to operate in the emirate.

“As the Middle East, Africa and South Asia’s leading global financial center, DIFC is proud to support forward-thinking companies like Ripple as they shape the future of finance and accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology in the payments industry,” DIFC Authority CEO Arif Amiri said.