Animoca Brands has obtained a regulated fund-management authorization in Abu Dhabi, strengthening its ability to offer institutional investors exposure to digital assets. The company announced on November 2 that Animoca Asset Management (AD) Limited received Financial Services Permission No. 250097 from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market. The register dates the permission to October 13, 2026.
The license allows the subsidiary to manage collective investment funds in or from ADGM, but it does not permit dealing with retail clients or holding or controlling client assets. That means any future fund would have to be aimed at non-retail investors and use separate custody arrangements. These restrictions matter under ADGM's rule changes from September, which simplified requirements for certain smaller and institutional-only funds.
Animoca's senior executive officer for the Abu Dhabi entity, Minh Do, called the approval "a critical milestone for our operations in the Middle East." Arvind Ramamurthy, chief market development officer at ADGM, said the move "strengthens the connections between institutional capital and digital assets."
The license arrives against a tough capital-raising backdrop. Galaxy Research estimates that crypto startups raised about $4.5 billion across 296 deals in Q3 2026, down roughly 20% from the previous quarter in both capital and deal count. Only three new crypto venture funds were formed, the lowest since Q3 2019, with total value near $1.3 billion. MAGNiTT data also shows MENA venture funding down 7% in the first nine months of 2026 and deal activity down 33%, with about 89% of regional funding coming from the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
ADGM itself reported a 54% year-on-year increase in assets under management in the first half of 2026, citing 190 fund and asset managers, 276 funds and 13,974 active licences. The UAE was ranked second in Henley & Partners' 2026 Crypto Adoption Index, up from fifth in 2025.
Still, the authorization is not capital. Animoca has not announced a named fund, committed assets, fees, custody arrangements or redemption terms. Its broader UAE presence includes Dubai's VARA register listing Animoca Brands Middle East Advisory FZCO for broker-dealer and management and investment services under institutional and qualified-investor conditions. A separate October 9 announcement with Franklin Templeton involves tokenized real-world assets on NUVA, a vault marketplace co-incubated by Animoca and Nuva Labs, but it is distinct from the ADGM permission.
For now, the permission gives Animoca a regulated institutional framework in Abu Dhabi. The test will be whether it can structure credible investment products and attract investor commitments amid declining crypto venture activity.
