Abu Dhabi Regulator Approves Animoca Brands Unit to Manage Investment Funds

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial centre of the UAE capital, granted a Financial Services Permission to the group's subsidiary, Animoca Asset Management (AD) Limited. The permission allows the unit to manage funds in or from ADGM.

Animoca Brands is a digital assets company that builds and invests in technologies including autonomous agentic AI. The group said the approval extends what it can offer institutional clients and supports its expansion in the Middle East.

The permission also fits wider plans the group has outlined, according to the report. These include building blockchain infrastructure for institutions, connecting traditional financial institutions with decentralised networks, developing tokenised assets and combining agentic AI with Web3 technologies.

Minh Do, senior executive officer and director at Animoca Asset Management, said the permission allows the company "to manage collective investment funds under a robust regulatory framework, bridging institutional capital with the future of the agentic web and digital assets."

Arvind Ramamurthy, chief market development officer at ADGM, said the firm's "expansion into fund management strengthens the connections between institutional capital and digital assets within our ecosystem."

Why It Matters

The approval adds another digital asset firm to the roster of regulated players in ADGM, which has been competing with other financial centres to attract crypto, tokenisation and fintech businesses under a formal licensing regime. For institutional investors in the Gulf, a regulated fund manager in Abu Dhabi offers a route into digital asset strategies through a familiar legal structure. The group did not disclose the size or timing of any funds it plans to launch.