Crypto giant Binance says that it has seen a 49% increase in user sign-ups year-to-date across the Middle East and North Africa in a blog post sharing the company’s progress in the region.

Its Dubai office has grown to over 400 employees, with new executive hires including Alex Chehade as General Manager, as well as Nadeem Ladki and Bader Kalooti as its business development and marketing heads for MENA.

Binance also recently obtained a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), allowing it to offer a range of approved virtual asset-related services to qualified investors in Dubai.

Additionally, the company boosted its Global Law Enforcement Training Programme to assist law enforcement across the globe to detect and prosecute financial and cybercrimes.

To grow its MENA footprint, Binance partnered with payment service provider EazyPay in Bahrain to launch Binance Pay to allow customers to use crypto as a payment method.

In the UAE, Binance signed a strategic partnership with retail and real estate conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim to enable its customers to make purchases with virtual assets.

Other notable partnerships that Binance has established recently include Jebel Ali Resorts, Palazzo Versace, and Virtuzone.

“We are witnessing rapid adoption of blockchain technology in the region and we believe there is huge potential for the UAE to soon become a leading virtual asset hub,”

said Richard Teng, Regional Head of MENA at Binance.