On December 17th, European digital asset platform Bitpanda announced that it has received approval in principle from the UAE Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) to operate locally under the name Bitpanda Broker MENA DMCC. Eric Demuth, CEO of the company, said that Dubai and the UAE will serve as a strategic springboard for its global expansion. Bitpanda has established an office in the Dubai DMCC Crypto Center and has established partnerships with institutions such as RAKBANK and CoinMENA. It is worth noting that the company recently launched Bitpanda Fusion, a large-value trading product for advanced traders, which will provide users in the Middle East and North Africa region with aggregated liquidity services on major exchanges.