Welcome back. So if you could explain what Zodiac Custody is and how it differs from a typical crypto exchange or wallet provider?
Sure. Zodiac Custody was designed from the outset for the safekeeping role in financial infrastructure. An exchange is where you go to trade. A wallet provider is where you take direct accountability for your own assets. As a custodian — just like in the traditional world — we are safeguarding those assets and providing other products and services to our clients in a secure environment.
Zodiac has cemented its presence in the UAE through the acquisition of Tungsten Custody. What makes Abu Dhabi the strategic hub for your global markets push?
Tungsten was a really significant move for us last year. We focused on building out within the Middle East, and bringing Tungsten into Zodiac Custody — a company already embedded in ADGM with licensing in place and licensing underway in Dubai — was a critical part of that. We have entities from Australia through to Europe and London. Abu Dhabi specifically is important for the institutional side because of the framework the FSRA has put together, which enables traditional assets and digital assets to sit within one clear regulatory framework. That makes it a genuinely strategic environment for us.
You went from leading Binance in Abu Dhabi to spearheading Zodiac's global markets franchise. What has ADGM or the FSRA specifically taught you about building institutional crypto capability?
What I find particularly appealing about Abu Dhabi — both the community and the regulatory environment — is the opportunity to work with regulators who have been driving this since 2017. They were embedded in the digital asset experience early enough to see that future model where traditional rails and digital rails are simply one unified model for all financial products. That vision is what makes Abu Dhabi a very appealing location to be part of.
When you're speaking with global asset managers in London or New York, are there misconceptions about setting up in Abu Dhabi?
I wouldn't say misconceptions — it's changed a lot. I've been in Abu Dhabi on and off since 2016. I think it's more about understanding where international players should be — ADGM, the Central Bank framework, Dubai, Bahrain. It's about which of those markets suits them best rather than any misunderstanding. What I'm seeing is that the larger institutions are clearly making Abu Dhabi their choice.
Zodiac is backed by major banks and fully licensed in ADGM. How is Abu Dhabi closing the trust gap between traditional finance and digital assets?
The critical piece is that the framework puts everything under one roof — one rulebook, one regulatory capital framework, one team. VARA has gone a different path with a pure virtual asset focus, and that makes absolute sense for what Dubai is trying to achieve. But in Abu Dhabi, you can be a traditional player focused on equities or bonds and operate within the same regulatory framework as your digital asset activities. That unified environment is what brings the trust together.
And from an institutional client perspective — is that the unique value proposition that Abu Dhabi offers that other crypto hubs don't?
Other hubs have taken different approaches — MiCA in Europe being an obvious example. But what people are really understanding about Abu Dhabi now is that it's not enough to just turn up. Ten years ago people used to say that. Today Abu Dhabi is a place where you need a real presence, real community engagement, and to actually be doing business here. The regulators, the support systems, the ecosystem — Abu Dhabi has genuinely excelled in making that a compelling proposition.
Thank you very much, Dom, for joining us.
