Key Takeaways
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Robinhood is entering Indonesia through the acquisition of a fully regulated local brokerage and digital asset firm.
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Binance has become the first crypto exchange to secure the full suite of licenses under Abu Dhabi’s FSRA.
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APAC has emerged as the most competitive battleground for global exchanges over the past three years.
For years, the Asia-Pacific region has been the most sought-after and fiercely contested market for global cryptocurrency firms.
This week, that competition escalated dramatically.
Robinhood announced plans to acquire two regulated Indonesian financial companies, marking its first major push into Southeast Asia.
Hours later, Binance revealed it had secured a full set of operational licenses from Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), becoming the first exchange to operate under end-to-end regulatory supervision in the emirate.
Together, the two moves signal a pivotal moment in the APAC crypto race, as global giants position themselves to capture some of the fastest-growing digital asset markets in the world.
Robinhood has entered into agreements to acquire PT Buana Capital Sekuritas, a licensed brokerage, and PT Pedagang Aset Kripto, an officially regulated digital asset trader in Indonesia.
The dual acquisition gives Robinhood immediate access to one of the region’s most dynamic retail trading markets, while providing a regulatory foothold in a country where crypto adoption continues to outpace traditional equities.
Patrick Chan, Robinhood’s Head of Asia, called Indonesia a rapidly growing market for trading and said the company plans to bring the same user-friendly experience that helped it scale in the U.S.
Following the deal, Robinhood will continue servicing existing Buana Capital customers while expanding product offerings to include access to U.S. equities, crypto trading, and potentially other asset classes.
The acquisition marks one of Robinhood’s biggest steps toward global expansion and signals the company’s intention to compete directly with regional exchanges such as Tokocrypto and Indodax.
While Robinhood looks to Southeast Asia, Binance has achieved a regulatory breakthrough in the Middle East.
The FSRA of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) granted Binance the full suite of licenses required to operate a complete digital asset ecosystem, including:
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a regulated exchange,
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a clearing and custody entity, and
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a broker-dealer platform.
This makes Binance the first global exchange to receive end-to-end operational authorization from the FSRA—an achievement that could position Abu Dhabi as a new hub for tightly supervised crypto activity.
