Binance’s CZ headlines as crypto crowd pours into Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is hosting both the sprawling Abu Dhabi Finance Week event and the Bitcoin MENA conference, drawing crypto, finance and institutional investors to the UAE’s capital from around the world.

Headlining the Bitcoin event is Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance better known as CZ, who was pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump in October after pleading guilty to violating money laundering laws.

Also appearing are Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman & CEO of the Dubai Multi-Commodity Centre; Abdulla Al Dhaheri, CEO of The Blockchain Center; Faisal Al Hammadi, Managing Partner at Further Ventures; and Ali Alnuaimi, Founder at Shafra.

Amid the gatherings, Binance received formal approval from Abu Dhabi Global Market’s regulatory authority to provide global platform services from Abu Dhabi via three licensed entities – an exchange, a clearing house, and a broker-dealer. Under the arrangement, Binance’s regulated operations are set to begin January 5, 2026.

Missing this year is Eric Trump, who spoke to a packed hall last year before Donald Trump took office and promised that his father would be the most pro-crypto President ever. Excitement over crypto appeared not to be dampened much by the 30% slide in Bitcoin’s value.

“This year has certainly been an interesting one where we started well, went sideways, came a little bit lower and leveraged positions,” Sam North, a market analyst at eToro, told The Circuit at the conference. “But overall, I think it has been a good year.”