Animoca Wins Final ADGM Approval to Manage Funds
Animoca Brands said today that its subsidiary Animoca Asset Management (AD) Limited (AAM) has received a Financial Services Permission from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), the regulator of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Abu Dhabi’s international financial centre. Animoca Brands Corporation Limited is a digital assets group that builds and invests in Web3 platforms.
The permission is for “Managing a Collective Investment Fund in or from the ADGM”. A collective investment fund pools money from several investors under one manager, so the permission lets AAM act as that manager. It is the final step after the FSRA’s in-principle approval, the preliminary clearance ADGM announced on 24 November 2025, which ADGM said was subject to conditions and final regulatory approval.
Minh Do, Senior Executive Officer and Director of AAM, described the permission as a milestone for the group’s Middle East operations:
Securing the Financial Services Permission from ADGM’s FSRA is a critical milestone for our operations in the Middle East. It allows us to manage collective investment funds under a robust regulatory framework, bridging institutional capital with the future of the agentic web and digital assets.
Minh Do, Senior Executive Officer and Director, Animoca Asset Management (AD) Limited
Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief Market Development Officer at ADGM, said the move into fund management strengthens links between institutional capital and digital assets in the centre, and that ADGM looks forward to supporting the firm’s growth.
The permission is the group’s second UAE regulatory footprint. In February, LeapRate covered Animoca’s Dubai licence from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), described as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) licence covering broker-dealer and management services in virtual assets for institutional and qualified investors. The two sit in different jurisdictions and cover different activities.
The scope is narrow. The release does not say the permission extends to dealing, custody or retail distribution, so it should not be read as a broad licence. It also does not name a fund, give a size or strategy, state the investor class AAM may serve, or set out the conditions attached to the permission. What AAM will launch has not been announced.
Sources: Animoca Brands announcement, 2 November 2026; ADGM announcement, 24 November 2025.
