The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market has granted Animoca Asset Management (AD) Limited (AAM) — a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based web3 investor Animoca Brands — a Financial Services Permission (FSP) to manage collective investment funds. The move is Abu Dhabi's second major digital-asset signal in under ten days, following the region-first crypto-mining guidance from ADGM's Registration Authority.
The regulator posted the news on its announcements page at adgm.com, with trade outlet Fintech News UAE confirming the details. A Financial Services Permission is ADGM's standard licence for providing regulated financial services; AAM's scope covers managing collective investment funds in or from ADGM. In practice, it is the right to establish and run funds — including those focused on digital assets — under FSRA supervision.
What happened
Animoca Brands is one of the world's largest web3 investors, with a portfolio of several hundred blockchain companies. Through AAM, the group gains a regulated channel to raise institutional capital in Abu Dhabi. AAM's Senior Executive Officer Minh Do framed the decision as the ability to "manage collective investment funds under a robust regulatory framework". ADGM Chief Market Development Officer Arvind Ramamurthy added that Animoca's expansion into fund management "strengthens the connections between institutional capital" and the ADGM ecosystem.
Why it matters for Animoca
Until now Animoca has operated in the UAE mainly as an investor and an infrastructure builder for web3 ecosystems. The FSP opens the door to institutional LP capital — insurers, pension funds and family offices — that are mandate-bound to avoid unregulated structures. In parallel the group has outlined plans to build blockchain infrastructure for institutional clients, tokenise assets and combine agentic AI with web3.
How an ADGM FSP works
The FSP is the backbone of ADGM financial-services regulation. FSRA issues it against a specific set of regulated activities under the Financial Services and Markets Regulations (FSMR). "Managing a Collective Investment Fund" is one such activity, covering the creation, management and administration of funds. The application process involves due diligence on owners and senior management, evidence of adequate capital and operational readiness, and documented compliance procedures (AML/CFT, transfer pricing, IFRS audit). The distinction with crypto-specific licences is material: VARA in Dubai regulates crypto exchanges, brokers and custodians — see our deep dive on Dubai's VARA licence — while FSRA ADGM applies a traditional financial-regulatory lens to digital assets.
Context: ADGM as a hub for institutional crypto
The Animoca decision is part of a wider push by ADGM to anchor itself as the region's hub for regulated digital assets. On 28 October 2026 the Registration Authority of ADGM issued the region's first dedicated crypto-mining guidance with a stand-alone commercial licence (code 7230). FSRA now takes the step up to capital management — the AAM permission locks in the institutional layer of the ecosystem. With its English-law common framework, cluster of financial regulators and faster licensing track, ADGM has become a magnet for crypto fund managers; our comparison of UAE free zones explains why, for fund management and private markets, two serious candidates effectively remain — ADGM and DIFC.
What this means for business in the UAE
For institutional investors it expands the toolkit of regulated vehicles for digital-asset exposure without leaving the local jurisdiction. For web3 founders it is a working case study on how a foreign group clears an ADGM FSP and builds an operating entity to manage capital in the region. For the market as a whole it signals that FSRA is prepared to grant FSPs to digital-asset players without tying them to traditional banking structures — provided the business model, ownership and compliance meet ADGM standards.
This article is for information only and is not legal or investment advice. For the exact list of regulated activities, FSP eligibility and licence scope, consult FSRA ADGM and a qualified legal adviser.
