Bitcoin Suisse secured an in-principle approval (IPA) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), marking a major step in the Swiss crypto firm’s expansion beyond the European Union.

The Swiss crypto financial service provider received the in-principle approval through its subsidiary BTCS (Middle East), according to a May 21 news release.

The IPA is a precursor to a full financial services license, which would allow Bitcoin Suisse to provide regulated crypto financial services such as digital asset trading, crypto securities and derivatives offerings, as well as custody solutions.

The approval reflects the firm’s “strong commitment to maintaining the highest standards of transparency, security, and regulatory compliance,” according to Ceyda Majcen, head of global expansion and designated senior executive officer of BTCS (Middle East).

Source: Bitcoin Suisse

“Abu Dhabi, one of the Middle East’s fastest-growing financial centers, presents a compelling opportunity for growth. We look forward to working closely with the FSRA to obtain our full license,” Majcen wrote in a May 21 X announcement.

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This marks Bitcoin Suisse’s first expansion outside of the European Union.

Founded in 2013, Bitcoin Suisse played a significant role in developing the country’s crypto ecosystem and has been a key contributor to Switzerland’s Crypto Valley, a Switzerland-based blockchain ecosystem valued at more than $500 billion.

Crypto Valley Unicorns. Source: CvVc.com

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Crypto firms bet on Middle East as next global crypto hub

Increasingly more crypto firms are expanding into the Middle East, seeing the region as the next potential global crypto hub due to its business-friendly regulatory licensing environment.

On April 29, Circle, the issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin, USDC (USDC), received an in-principle approval from the FSRA, moving one step closer to the full license to become a regulated money service provider in the United Arab Emirates.

A day earlier, the Stacks Asia DLT Foundation partnered with ADGM, becoming the first Bitcoin-based organization to establish an official presence in the Middle East, Cointelegraph reported on April 28.

As part of the partnership, the Stacks Foundation aims to advance progressive regulatory frameworks in the Middle East.

“We’re not just focused locally — our team is engaged in global conversations, advocating for frameworks that balance decentralization, security, innovation, and compliance surrounding the unlocking of Bitcoin capital,” Kyle Ellicott, executive director at Stacks Asia DLT Foundation, told Cointelegraph.

The foundation is also developing the Bitcoin Capital Activation Framework, described as a comprehensive policy blueprint to help regulators enable Bitcoin utility in their jurisdictions.

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United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce said many non-fungible tokens (NFTs), including those with mechanisms to pay creator royalties, likely fall outside the purview of federal securities laws.

In a recent speech, Peirce said NFTs that allow artists to earn resale revenue do not automatically qualify as securities. Unlike stocks, NFTs are programmable assets that distribute proceeds to developers or artists. The SEC official said that mirrors how streaming platforms compensate musicians and filmmakers. 

“Just as streaming platforms pay royalties to the creator of a song or video each time a user plays it, an NFT can enable artists to benefit from the appreciation in the value of their work after its initial sale,” Peirce said. 

Peirce added that the feature does not provide NFT owners any rights or interest in any business enterprise or profits “traditionally associated with securities.”

SEC never prohibited NFT royalties

Oscar Franklin Tan, chief legal officer of Enjin core contributor Atlas Development Services, told Cointelegraph that the recent remarks by Peirce on NFTs and creator royalties have been widely misunderstood. 

Peirce had clarified that NFTs that send resale royalties to artists are not necessarily securities, a view Tan says is legally sound but mischaracterized in some media reports. 

“So Hester Peirce said that an NFT that sends royalties back to the creator after a sale is not a security. This is correct, but the way some media reported this is completely out of context,” Tan told Cointelegraph. “The actual context is that this is not controversial, and it was never considered a security.”

The lawyer said US securities law focuses on regulating investments and not compensating creators for their work.

“The artist or creator is not an investor, not a passive third party in the NFT,” he said, noting that royalty payments are not considered investment income. 

Instead, Tan told Cointelegraph that this type of earning is “analogous to business income,” which the SEC does not regulate. He added: 

“The SEC never prohibited contracts where artists and creators get royalties from secondary sales of their work, not royalties from paper contracts or blockchain protocols.”

Tan explained that the legal distinction becomes more complicated when NFTs promise shared profits from royalties to multiple holders beyond the original creator. 

Tan also urged regulators and market participants to apply traditional legal reasoning to new blockchain technologies. “Ask yourself, if this were done by pen and paper instead of blockchain, would there still be a regulatory issue?” he said. “If none, slow down.”

Source: Oscar Franklin Tan

Related: SEC charges Unicoin crypto platform over alleged $100 million fraud

OpenSea calls on the SEC to exempt NFT marketplaces from oversight

While NFT royalties may not have been a controversial SEC issue, NFT marketplaces are a different case. In August 2024, NFT trading platform OpenSea received a Wells notice from the SEC, alleging that NFTs traded on the marketplace could qualify as unregistered securities. 

On Feb. 22, OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer announced that the SEC has officially closed its investigation into the platform. The executive said that this was a win for the industry. 

Following the conclusion of the SEC’s investigation, OpenSea’s lawyers penned a letter to Peirce, who leads the SEC’s Crypto Task Force. OpenSea general counsel Adele Faure and deputy general counsel Laura Brookover said in an April 9 letter that NFT marketplaces don’t qualify as brokers under US securities laws. 

The lawyers said the marketplaces don’t execute transactions or act as intermediaries. The lawyers urged the SEC to “clearly state that NFT marketplaces like OpenSea do not qualify as exchanges under federal securities laws.”

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Key points:

Bitcoin tags $108,000 for the first time since the day of its current all-time highs in January.

Traders and analysts mention support extending toward $90,000, but the probability of a retest is fading.

Near-term upside targets include a “blow-off top” at $128,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) spiked to more than $108,000 on May 21, marking new four-month highs — where will BTC/USD go next?

Crypto traders and analysts are lining up their forecasts with BTC price action less than 1.5% away from new all-time highs.

BTC price support test now “less likely”

Bitcoin continues to coil below what is now its most significant psychological resistance barrier — January’s all-time highs.

BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

At $109,356 on Bitstamp, per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, that seminal line in the sand is what bulls are attempting to bring back into play this week.

Volatility is picking up — BTC/USD dropped almost $1,000 in minutes following its move past $108,000, with traders attempting to position around the spot price.

GM $BTC shorted. pic.twitter.com/nVfYKuNhu1

— BrutalBTC (@BrutalBtc) May 21, 2025

Order book liquidity data from monitoring resource CoinGlass showed thickening bid support just below $106,000 at the time of writing.

BTC liquidation heatmap (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass

Commenting, Keith Alan, co-founder of trading resource Material Indicators, highlighted several moving averages (MAs), the $100,000 mark, and the 2025 yearly open as potential long-term support retest zones.

The highest of these, the 21-day MA, stood at $101,640 on the day.

“The 50-Day MA is on a trajectory to Golden Cross with the 200-Day MA in a tight range that has confluence with the Trend Line AND the 2025 YO,” he wrote in part of his latest post on X. 

“You can’t really ask for stronger technical support than that.”

Alan argued that a deeper retracement to support would strengthen Bitcoin’s overall recovery and help boost the odds of holding higher levels going forward.

“I’d personally consider a dump to that level a gift, but at this point I don’t think it’s a likely one. In fact the further the 21-Day MA (green) gets from $100k, the less likely we are to get the support test I’ve been looking for,” he concluded. 

“Whether BTC retests $100k or not, I’m happy to see consolidation in this range before the next leg up.”BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: Keith Alan/X

Traders expect Bitcoin to go toward $128,000 next

Crypto trader, analyst and entrepreneur Michaël van de Poppe held similar views on support levels to hold.

Related: Sorry bears — Bitcoin analysis dismisses $107K BTC price double top

Both $91,800 and $100,700 feature in his latest analysis, with the latter described as a “point of interest.”

“It’s always a good morning with Bitcoin at $108,000 and close to a new ATH,” he summarized on the day.

BTC/USDT 12-hour chart with RSI data. Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X

In a separate X post, Van de Poppe said that new all-time highs were approaching “faster than he expected.”

$120,000, he argued, was one of several “imminent” targets extending up to $200,000.

Elsewhere, popular trader Merlijn agreed with $116,000 as the next short-term BTC price target, seeing BTC/USD “exploding” out of a consolidation pennant. 

MASSIVE BULLISH BITCOIN PENNANT BREAKOUT!$BTC coiled for days now it’s exploding.

This pennant points to $116K… and it’s just getting started.

Ride the wave or watch it fly. pic.twitter.com/lyox33TJp4

— Merlijn The Trader (@MerlijnTrader) May 21, 2025

Fellow trader Henry meanwhile upped the target to $128,000 as a “blow-off top” while also identifying support areas at $105,000 and $96,000.

BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: Henry/X

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.