UAE-based artificial intelligence fund MGX has announced it will be investing $2 billion in the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance. According to MGX, this will be:

• “The single largest investment into a crypto company.”
• “The largest investment paid in crypto (stablecoin).”
• “The first institutional investment in Binance.”

In a statement last week, the Gulf investor said: “This investment represents MGX’s first entry into the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors, securing a minority stake in Binance as part of a broader strategy to support blockchain’s transformative impact on society.”

The partnership will bring together MGX’s strong background in AI, and Binance’s cryptocurrency and blockchain technology expertise to enable innovation across the sector, the statement adds.

Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by some margin, with 260 million registered users and over $100 trillion cumulative trading volume. It already has a footprint in the UAE with around 20% of its global workforce of 5,000 placed there.

MGX CEO and managing director Ahmed Yahia said: “Together, we are committed to building a more inclusive and robust digital finance ecosystem.”

Binance CEO, Richard Teng, added, “This investment by MGX is a significant milestone for the crypto industry and for Binance. Together, we are shaping the future of digital finance.”

Coinbase returns to India

There was also good news for another major cryptocurrency exchange last week, as Coinbase announced it was returning to India after getting a green light from the regulators there.

In a statement, the US’s largest cryptocurrency exchange said it had registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which now allows it to offer crypto trading services in the country.

“India represents one of the world’s most dynamic markets for crypto and onchain innovation, and this milestone reinforces our commitment to compliance and responsible growth in the region,” the statement added.

The announcement is “a sign of a thaw in the country’s hostility to digital coins following President Donald Trump’s strong support for the assets,” the Financial Times said.

“India represents one of the world’s most dynamic markets for crypto and onchain innovation.”

Binance statement

Historically, Indian regulators have not been fans of the digital assets industry, especially foreign crypto exchanges. Coinbase left the country in 2022 after what it called ‘informal pressure’ from the authorities there.

But things seem to have changed, and Coinbase has said India is now on the right track of “embracing regulation and encouraging innovation in the crypto and onchain space.”

According to John O’Loghlen, Regional Managing Director for APAC at Coinbase: “India represents one of the most exciting market opportunities in the world today, and we’re proud to deepen our investment here in full compliance with local regulations.”

Stablecoin gold rush

In further good news for the crypto industry, there is now an increasing trend of banks and fintechs around the world exploring opportunities around the stablecoin gold rush, the FT has reported.

According to the paper, the likes of Bank of America, Standard Chartered, PayPal, Revolut and Stripe have already hinted at putting out their own coins and formally joining the digital assets industry.

Change in regulatory approach around the world is one of the major reasons why traditional institutions are showing in increasing interest in the digital assets sector.

There is hope, and belief, that stablecoins with fixed values could, in the future, represent an alternative to traditional assets such as gold and currency and can become integral part of the global financial system.

And, as we have previously discussed, the return of Donald Trump to the White House, and government pressure on regulators to cut red tape in other parts of the world, had a part to play in changing the momentum in favour of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.

Simon Taylor, co-founder of fintech consultancy 11: FS, was quoted by the FT saying: “It’s about people selling shovels in the stablecoin gold rush. The other thing that’s driven it is there’s real volume,” he said. “Founders want to get a piece of it because they know they’re going to get stablecoin regulation and so it’s all of those things coming together.”

Market crash fears

Not all asset managers are keen to jump onto the crypto bandwagon though, as bitcoin prices continue to fluctuate and fall after hitting record peaks in the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump’s White House return.

As reported by Forbes, those price drops have now wiped around $1 trillion off the global crypto market in the past one month, leading to warnings of a market crash.

At the same time, business leaders have warned that Trump’s trade policies are causing inflation and killing hopes that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year.

BlackRock’s chief executive Larry Fink was recently reported saying: “I think if we all are becoming a little more nationalistic – and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, you know, it does resonate with me – that it’s going to have elevated inflation.”

And experts believe that lack of uncertainty around Trump’s policy choices has had an impact on the crypto market too, as investors wait to see more clarity and support from the White House and the Federal Reserve.

Earlier this month, Elon Musk, one of Trump’s closest allies and a crypto advocate, also warned that bitcoin prices could be affected by recent memcoin crashes, and told investors to invest carefully.

Crypto administrator arrested

Aleksej Besciokov, an administrator at cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, has been arrested by the authorities in India after a request from Washington, the BBC has reported.

The US Department of Justice says he was responsible for reviewing and approving transactions at the exchange, and has accused him of helping cybercriminals launder money and violate sanctions, according to the report.

Besciokov is a Lithuanian citizen and a Russian resident, and it is not clear why and when he came to India, the DOJ has said in an indictment against him.

According to the document, Besciokov and a number of other individuals “operated Garantex to launder the proceeds of criminal activity, including ransomware, computer hacking, narcotics transactions, and sanctions violations, and profited from the laundering.”

The DOJ says Garantex has processed at least $96 billion since 2019 and has misled authorities, including those in Russia, about the identities of its customers.

The US Treasury sanctioned the exchange in April 2022 “for its role in facilitating money laundering of funds from ransomware actors and dark net markets.”

Indian officials have said he will be prosecuted at a court in Delhi, but have not commented on whether or when he will be extradited to the US, according to the BBC.