Animoca Brands Secures Final Abu Dhabi Approval to Manage Investment Funds

Animoca Brands has received final approval to manage investment funds in Abu Dhabi, the crypto investor said on Monday. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) granted a Financial Services Permission to its subsidiary Animoca Asset Management (AD) Limited.

The permission allows the unit to manage a collective investment fund in or from ADGM. The number of fund and asset managers in the zone rose 23% from a year earlier to 190 by the end of June, and the FSRA granted 45 permissions of all types in the first half of 2026.

Animoca first received in-principle approval from the FSRA in November 2025, subject to conditions. The company could not run funds until it met the regulator's requirements and secured the final permission announced on Monday. Measured by announcement dates, the process took Animoca about 11 months, compared with about 14 months for eToro, which moved from in-principle approval in September 2022 to a full license to broker securities, derivatives and crypto assets in November 2023.

Minh Do, senior executive officer and director of the asset management unit, said the permission allows Animoca to manage collective investment funds under a robust regulatory framework.

The Abu Dhabi permission is Animoca's second regulated foothold in the UAE this year. In February, the company announced a license from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) for broker-dealer and management services in virtual assets, offered to institutional and qualified investors.

Arvind Ramamurthy, chief market development officer at ADGM, said Animoca's move into fund management strengthens the connections between institutional capital and digital assets in the free zone.

Animoca, which built The Sandbox and the Moca Network, says it holds stakes in more than 600 companies and digital assets. It did not provide a fund name or size.