BurjX

Overview

BurjX is a UAE-built cryptocurrency exchange co-founded by Omar Abbas and Adam Ferris — the team behind NDAX, Canada’s largest regulated exchange. Their vision: build a category-leading digital asset platform for the MENA region, from the ground up, in the UAE. Licensed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), BurjX operates as both broker and custodian — a rare dual-license setup that provides full-stack control over the user experience.

INIT partnered with BurjX to design and build the core exchange infrastructure — a platform that needed to handle real-time trading, instant AED banking integrations, institutional-grade custody, and strict regulatory compliance, all while delivering a seamless consumer experience.

The Challenge

Building a regulated crypto exchange in the UAE is not a typical software project. The platform had to satisfy multiple intersecting constraints:

• Regulatory compliance: Full alignment with ADGM FSRA requirements — KYC/AML onboarding, trade surveillance, wallet risk policies, and audit trails
• Banking integration: Instant deposits and withdrawals in UAE dirhams, integrated directly with local banks — no third-party payment processors, no friction
• Institutional-grade security: Client assets needed enterprise-level custody with insurance coverage for both hot and cold wallets
• Scale and speed: Support for 100+ digital assets including BTC, ETH, SOL, and XRP, with real-time order matching and execution
• Dual audience: A consumer-friendly mobile and web experience for retail traders, alongside a Private Client Group and OTC desk for high-net-worth and institutional clients
• AI-powered support: The region’s first intelligent self-service solution for crypto, with multilingual 24/7 live assistance

Our Solution

1. Exchange Core & Trading Engine

We built a high-performance trading engine capable of handling real-time order matching across 100+ digital asset pairs with AED as the primary fiat gateway. The system supports market, limit, and advanced order types with real-time price feeds and portfolio analytics.

2. Banking & Fiat Rails

The AED on/off-ramp was the platform’s key differentiator. We engineered direct integrations with UAE banking infrastructure to enable instant deposits and withdrawals in dirhams — eliminating the multi-day settlement times common with other regional exchanges. This “bread and butter” feature required deep work on payment reconciliation, compliance checks, and real-time balance management.

3. Custody & Security Architecture

Client assets are secured through a Fireblocks-powered custody layer providing institutional-grade key management, MPC (Multi-Party Computation) signing, and comprehensive insurance coverage across hot and cold wallets. We built the integration layer connecting the trading engine with the custody infrastructure, ensuring every transaction is cryptographically verified and auditable.

4. Compliance & Onboarding

We implemented a full regulatory compliance stack — automated KYC/AML screening, ongoing trade surveillance, and wallet risk scoring. The corporate onboarding flow supports fast verification with high deposit/withdrawal limits for institutional clients, while the retail flow balances speed with regulatory rigor.

5. Consumer Experience & AI Support

The platform ships as both a responsive web application and native mobile app (iOS/Android), featuring real-time portfolio tracking, instant crypto conversions, and advanced trading tools. We integrated an AI-powered support system — the region’s first intelligent self-service solution for crypto — backed by multilingual human agents available 24/7.

Results

BurjX launched on July 15, 2025, with ADGM FSRA licensing — positioning itself as a category leader for digital asset trading in the MENA region:

• 100+ digital assets tradeable directly in UAE dirhams from day one
• Instant AED deposits and withdrawals integrated with UAE banks — zero friction
• FSRA-licensed as both broker and custodian under Abu Dhabi Global Market
• Institutional-grade custody via Fireblocks with full insurance coverage
• Dual-audience platform serving retail traders and institutional clients with tailored experiences
• Sharia-compliant products on the roadmap — a first for a regulated UAE exchange