3iQ Wins In-Principle Approval for Category 4 License in Abu Dhabi
Published October 13, 2026, 12:45 PKT. Based on 3iQ Corp.'s announcement of October 12, 2026 (PR Newswire) and reporting by Crypto Briefing, COINOTAG and TokenPost.
Digital asset manager 3iQ Corp. said on October 12 that its UAE-based sister company, 3iQ Middle East Ltd, received In-Principle Approval for a Category 4 license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market, moving one step closer to running a regulated institutional crypto business in the Emirates.
The Category 4 green light
A Category 4 license from ADGM's FSRA would allow 3iQ Middle East to deal in investments, arrange custody, manage collective investment funds and provide investment advice, according to COINOTAG's reporting. Crypto Briefing noted the advisory scope is non-discretionary, meaning the firm can recommend and arrange deals while clients keep the final say on what gets bought or sold.
The approval was announced at 12:15 a.m. ET on October 12 (4:15 a.m. UTC), TokenPost reported. 3iQ Corp. is a subsidiary of NASDAQ-listed Coincheck Group N.V., which trades under the ticker CNCK.
The $100 million QMAP head start
The license news follows 3iQ's strategic partnership with Further, a UAE-based digital asset investment manager, announced in October 2025, according to the company's announcement. The partnership gives institutional investors access to digital assets through 3iQ's Managed Account Platform, known as QMAP, which the company says attracted $100 million in sovereign-linked seed capital.
The planned vehicle is a multi-strategy hedge fund targeting institutional and sophisticated investors, TokenPost reported. The $100 million in initial commitments came from government-linked investors, family offices and institutions, COINOTAG reported.
Pascal St-Jean, chief executive of 3iQ and Coincheck Group, said the company has long viewed the UAE as a digital asset hub with an advanced regulatory regime. "3iQ looks forward to cementing a presence in the region, starting with the Abu Dhabi Global Market," St-Jean said. 3iQ launched the first Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded products on a major stock exchange, according to its announcement.
The firm's Middle East operations are led by Rachel Pether, who joined 3iQ as head of Middle East in 2023. Pether spent almost a decade at Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala in its Capital Markets and Treasury team and was previously a senior advisor for SkyBridge Capital, according to the announcement.
In-principle is not final
The in-principle approval is conditional rather than final. Under the FSRA's published application process, 3iQ Middle East must still secure a commercial license, establish local premises, open a bank account and inject any required capital before the regulator grants a full Financial Services Permission, COINOTAG reported. The approval does not yet permit the firm to conduct licensed business, TokenPost noted.
Arvind Ramamurthy, ADGM's chief market development officer, said the approval reflects rising interest from international firms in the financial centre's digital asset ecosystem, according to Crypto Briefing. 3iQ said the Abu Dhabi authorization is part of a broader push to hold licenses in the world's major digital asset hubs.
This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.
Sources
- 3iQ Corp., 3iQ Receives In-Principle Approval from Abu Dhabi's IFC (Oct. 12, 2026), primary source for the approval, the $100 million QMAP seed capital, the Further partnership, the executive quotes and the Middle East leadership background
- Crypto Briefing, 3iQ wins in-principle approval for Category 4 license in Abu Dhabi (Oct. 12, 2026), secondary source for the non-discretionary advisory scope and the ADGM quote
- COINOTAG, 3iQ Wins ADGM In-Principle Approval in Abu Dhabi (Oct. 13, 2026), secondary source for the Category 4 permissions and the conditional licensing steps
- TokenPost, 3iQ Middle East Gets Conditional Abu Dhabi Category 4 Approval (Oct. 12, 2026), secondary source for the announcement timing and the conditional nature of the approval
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