Kraken Gets Final Dubai Crypto License, Plans UAE Launch Within Weeks

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has received Full Market Approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), clearing the last stage of the regulator's licensing process. The company said it expects to begin serving clients in the United Arab Emirates within weeks.

The decision follows the preliminary authorization granted to Payward FZCO in May for a broker-dealer, investment and management license, which allowed the unit to build out its local operations but not to onboard customers. The full approval covers retail, professional and institutional investors, meaning Kraken can now market its platform directly to Dubai's retail traders, within the services VARA expressly permits for that segment. Payward says it holds more than 100 licenses and registrations globally.

A crowded register, and derivatives still pending

Kraken enters a market where rival offshore exchanges established themselves years earlier. Crypto.com's Dubai entity obtained a VARA license for exchange and broker-dealer services in November 2023. Binance Dubai received its full license in April 2024 and began shifting UAE users off its global platform that June. Bybit said in October 2025 that it had secured a full platform operator license from the UAE's federal Securities and Commodities Authority instead. Dubai licenses each activity separately — from brokerage and custody to lending and advisory work — with capital requirements tied to the activity.

At launch, UAE clients will be able to trade spot and margin on pairs quoted in dirhams and to deposit and withdraw the local currency directly. Retail users will also receive on-chain staking, transfers through the Krak app and access to xStocks, the tokenized equities whose backing assets passed $800 million in September. Institutional clients gain OTC spot trading and Kraken Prime, which Kraken opened as a self-service platform for institutions in August.

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, said UAE clients would get "the same order book and multi-asset coverage we run in every other market." Crypto derivatives and additional yield products are expected later in 2026 and into 2027, subject to regulatory sign-off; under VARA's exchange rulebook updated in March, a licensed platform needs explicit approval before listing futures, options or perpetual contracts. Payward also intends to offer its trading infrastructure to regional firms as an embedded service.

The Gulf expansion lands in a softer year for crypto trading volumes. Payward's adjusted revenue rose 17% year over year to $508 million in the second quarter, while platform transaction volume fell 13% from the first quarter to $310 billion. The group filed confidentially with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2025 and does not plan to list before the second quarter of 2027, according to CoinDesk reporting from September citing people familiar with the matter.