3iQ Middle East Gets In-Principle Approval for ADGM Category 4 Licence
The UAE-based sister company of Toronto's 3iQ Corp has cleared the first stage of Abu Dhabi Global Market's licensing process.
Nadia Mansour Nadia Mansour covers fintech across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted -- digital banking, payments licences and the startups building around them. nadia@anecdoted.com
3iQ Middle East Ltd has received in-principle approval for a Category 4 licence from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market. The company is based in the UAE and is a sister firm to 3iQ Corp, the Toronto digital asset manager.
The approval marks a step toward a regulated presence in the financial centre. It is not the end of the process: 3iQ Middle East continues to work through the remaining licensing requirements.
ADGM framed the decision as evidence of wider interest from international firms in its digital asset market, which has drawn a growing list of global managers seeking a regulated base in the capital.
The in-principle approval follows 3iQ's announcement of a strategic partnership with Further, a UAE-based digital asset investment manager. Through that tie-up, institutional investors can reach digital assets by way of QMAP, 3iQ's Managed Account Platform.
The firm has said it wants to be regulated and present in every major digital asset hub, with the goal of giving accredited investors worldwide access to its investment management offering. Building that footprint means holding licences in each jurisdiction rather than serving clients from a single base, a structure that adds cost but answers to local regulators.
Rachel Pether heads the Middle East operation and leads 3iQ's presence in the region. She joined the firm in 2023. Before that she spent close to a decade on the Capital Markets and Treasury team at Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi sovereign investor, and previously served as a senior advisor to SkyBridge Capital.
Pascal St-Jean, chief executive at 3iQ and at Coincheck Group, said the firm has long held that the UAE is a key digital asset hub, pointing to a regulatory regime he described as advanced and protective of investors.
Arvind Ramamurthy, chief market development officer at ADGM, said the centre looks forward to supporting 3iQ through the licensing process and to the firm's contribution to Abu Dhabi's expanding digital asset ecosystem.
The sequence is familiar for global asset managers entering the Gulf: a local entity, a local distribution partner, and regional leadership hired from sovereign and institutional ranks. What remains to be tested is whether the licence converts into institutional allocations. QMAP gives 3iQ a route to sell into UAE institutions, but the in-principle status leaves the firm short of full authorisation, and ADGM's Category 4 permissions are narrower than the asset management licences 3iQ holds elsewhere. Until the process closes, the partnership with Further carries the regional business.
