UAE Sets Global Benchmark For Crypto-Banking Integration, Amina Bank’s Rohan Misra Says

Rohan Misra, Head of GCC at AMINA Bank on Thursday said the United Arab Emirates has emerged as a model jurisdiction for integrating crypto into regulated banking channels, urging other global regulators to take note, especially in the aftermath of banking failures like Silvergate and Signature.

“The UAE has approached crypto with maturity and structure,” Misra said in an interview with Benzinga. “There are different licensing jurisdictions here, and it has created healthy competition, giving market participants choice. More countries should ideally follow suit.”

His remarks come amid a shifting regulatory landscape where jurisdictions such as Switzerland and the UAE have embraced Web3 licensing frameworks, while U.S.-based banks that served crypto clients collapsed under the weight of regulatory pressure and concentrated exposure.

Misra believes the key lesson from the Silvergate and Signature implosions is not to isolate crypto firms, but to bring them into the fold of formal banking.

“There was a high degree of concentration with a couple of players in the ecosystem,” Misra noted. “It was a mix of risk and regulatory action.”

He added that regulatory isolation amplified systemic fragility. “This is a shout out to all banking regulators to explore crypto being integrated into banking so we can democratize access.”

Amina Bank, founded in Switzerland and licensed by FINMA, now operates across the European Union, the UAE, and Hong Kong.

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Misra said the bank has adopted a risk-aware, jurisdictionally nuanced model—serving over 30 domiciles while excluding sanctioned and high-risk regions.

“We evaluate every jurisdiction in its totality, including country risks, banking risks, and counterparty risks,” he said.

Referencing the role of banks as trusted intermediaries, Misra said crypto’s long-term viability hinges on integration with institutions users already understand.

“People have known about banks for hundreds of years. People feel safe with banks,” he emphasized.

He credited Switzerland’s early leadership in regulated crypto banking and praised the UAE’s multi-regulator model, calling it both competitive and collaborative. “Here, different licensing authorities have created an environment where innovation is encouraged, but risk is also being managed.”

In light of past failures like Silvergate and Signature, Misra said risk underwriting practices are evolving.

As BIS-led initiatives like Project Agora explore tokenized money, Misra said he expects central bank rails and crypto-native systems to coexist, not compete. “It’s rarely either-or,” he said. “Both will continue to evolve in parallel.”

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