Time

Prime

Standard

Dubai

Rain

<ul>
 <li><strong>Kraken’s parent Payward has full VARA approval to serve clients in the UAE from Dubai.</strong></li>
 <li><strong>UAE customers will fund accounts in dirhams and trade on Kraken’s global order books.</strong></li>
 <li><strong>The exchange closed its Abu Dhabi office in 2023, so this is its second attempt in the country.</strong></li>
 <li><strong>Dubai’s licensed crypto field has grown fast, and banks are now competing for institutional business.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Kraken’s parent company Payward has secured <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261012881259/en/Kraken-Plans-UAE-Launch-Following-Full-Market-Approval-from-VARA-in-Dubai" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Full Market Approval</a> from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), allowing its local subsidiary Payward FZCO to serve both retail and institutional clients in the United Arab Emirates once the rollout is completed in the coming weeks. The full Virtual Asset Service Provider license, issued on October 6 and announced on October 12, covers broker-dealer activity along with management and investment services and follows the <a href="https://www.payward.com/press-release/payward-vara-authorization-uae" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">preliminary approval Payward received in May</a>, which allowed it to prepare a local operation without onboarding customers.</p>
<h2 id="why-dirham-funding-removes-a-conversion-cost-for-uae-traders">Why Dirham Funding Removes a Conversion Cost for UAE Traders</h2>
<p>Traders in the Emirates who use offshore platforms often convert dirhams (AED) into dollars through a bank or a third-party service before buying crypto, paying a currency spread on the way in and again on the way out. Kraken will accept AED deposits and withdrawals at launch and list AED trading pairs, with UAE orders matching against the same global order books its other customers use. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said UAE clients will get the company’s existing global trading infrastructure, which should mean deeper liquidity than a ring-fenced local venue.</p>
<p>VARA’s public register lists Payward FZCO for broker-dealer and management and investment services, without the exchange services category held by Binance, OKX or Flipster, which fits a model where the Dubai entity passes client orders to Kraken’s global books instead of running a local order book of its own. Derivatives would require a further category on top of that.</p>
<div style="overflow-x: auto; margin: 24px 0 8px 0; border-radius: 12px; box-shadow: 0 4px 18px rgba(11,31,58,0.12);">
 <table style="width: 100%; min-width: 440px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; background: #ffffff;">
  <thead>
   <tr style="background: linear-gradient(120deg,#0b1f3a 0%,#2a3f8f 100%); color: #ffffff;">
    <th style="padding: 14px 16px; text-align: left; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">Product</th>
    <th style="padding: 14px 16px; text-align: left; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">Who gets it</th>
    <th style="padding: 14px 16px; text-align: left; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">Status</th>
   </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
   <tr style="background: #f6f8fc;">
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e6eaf2; font-weight: 600; color: #0b1f3a;">Spot trading, AED pairs and AED funding</td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e6eaf2;">Eligible clients</td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e6eaf2;"><span style="display: inline-block; padding: 4px 10px; border-radius: 20px; background: #dff5e8; color: #157347; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">At launch</span></td>
   </tr>
   <tr style="background: #ffffff;">
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e6eaf2; font-weight: 600; color: #0b1f3a;">Margin, staking and xStocks</td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e6eaf2;">Subject to permissions</td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e6eaf2;"><span style="display: inline-block; padding: 4px 10px; border-radius: 20px; background: #dff5e8; color: #157347; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">Initial offering</span></td>
   </tr>
   <tr style="background: #f6f8fc;">
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e6eaf2; font-weight: 600; color: #0b1f3a;">Kraken Prime and OTC spot</td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e6eaf2;">Institutions</td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e6eaf2;"><span style="display: inline-block; padding: 4px 10px; border-radius: 20px; background: #e3e9ff; color: #2a3f8f; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">Initial offering</span></td>
   </tr>
   <tr style="background: #ffffff;">
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; font-weight: 600; color: #0b1f3a;">Derivatives and yield products</td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px;">To be confirmed</td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px;"><span style="display: inline-block; padding: 4px 10px; border-radius: 20px; background: #fff1d6; color: #a35c00; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">Pending approval</span></td>
   </tr>
  </tbody>
 </table>
</div>
<p style="font-size: 13px; color: #667085; margin: 0 0 24px 0; font-style: italic;">Kraken’s planned UAE lineup. Source: Payward.</p>
<p>Payward is also bringing <a href="https://ethnews.com/kraken-extends-24-7-bank-settlement-to-asia-and-the-gulf-via-sgb/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Kraken Prime and OTC desks</a> for larger clients, along with embedded trading infrastructure that would let regional brokers or fintech apps offer crypto inside their own products. Payward has not named a UAE partner yet, but on October 4 it connected the real-time settlement network of Singapore Gulf Bank, a Bahrain-regulated digital bank, to its institutional business. The xStocks tokens add price exposure to US stocks and exchange-traded funds on blockchain rails, without automatically carrying the voting, dividend or redemption rights of a directly held share.</p>
<h2 id="the-abu-dhabi-exit-kraken-is-now-quietly-undoing">The Abu Dhabi Exit Kraken Is Now Quietly Undoing</h2>
<p>Kraken obtained <a href="https://www.mediaoffice.abudhabi/en/economy/kraken-is-first-global-virtual-asset-exchange-to-receive-adgm-financial-licence-to-launch-fully-regulated-cryptocurrency-offerings-in-middle-east" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a financial services license from Abu Dhabi Global Market</a> in April 2022 and promised AED funding, then shut the office in February 2023, three months after cutting roughly 30% of its global workforce as the bear market deepened. That first setup was meant to move dirhams through RAKBank, and when the office closed, Kraken converted the remaining AED balances into dollars for clients to withdraw.</p>
<div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 10px; margin: 24px 0;">
 <div style="flex: 1 1 140px; background: #f6f8fc; border-top: 4px solid #2a3f8f; border-radius: 10px; padding: 14px;">
  <div style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; color: #2a3f8f; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">
   Apr 2022
  </div>
  <div style="margin-top: 6px; font-size: 14px; color: #1d2433;">
   ADGM license, AED funding announced
  </div>
 </div>
 <div style="flex: 1 1 140px; background: #fdf1f0; border-top: 4px solid #c0392b; border-radius: 10px; padding: 14px;">
  <div style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; color: #c0392b; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">
   Feb 2023
  </div>
  <div style="margin-top: 6px; font-size: 14px; color: #1d2433;">
   Abu Dhabi office closed, AED support suspended
  </div>
 </div>
 <div style="flex: 1 1 140px; background: #fff8ea; border-top: 4px solid #d98a00; border-radius: 10px; padding: 14px;">
  <div style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; color: #a35c00; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">
   May 2026
  </div>
  <div style="margin-top: 6px; font-size: 14px; color: #1d2433;">
   Preliminary VARA approval in Dubai
  </div>
 </div>
 <div style="flex: 1 1 140px; background: #eaf7f0; border-top: 4px solid #157347; border-radius: 10px; padding: 14px;">
  <div style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; color: #157347; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">
   Oct 2026
  </div>
  <div style="margin-top: 6px; font-size: 14px; color: #1d2433;">
   Full VARA license, AED trading returns
  </div>
 </div>
</div>
<p>The approvals come from different authorities, and Kraken has not described the Dubai license as a reversal of its 2023 decision, yet the result is the same dirham product returning under another emirate’s regulator.</p>
<h2 id="revenue-up-17-on-falling-volume-points-to-the-prime-push">Revenue Up 17% on Falling Volume Points to the Prime Push</h2>
<p>Payward reported <a href="https://www.payward.com/press-release/q2-2026-financial-highlights" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">adjusted revenue of $508 million</a> for the second quarter of 2026, up 17% year over year, while platform transaction volume fell 13% quarter over quarter to $310 billion. Growing revenue on lower volume suggests more income is coming from products outside plain spot trading, such as staking and prime services, which is where the UAE launch puts much of its weight, although Payward has not linked the two. The company, which claims more than 100 licenses and registrations worldwide, filed confidentially for a US IPO in November 2025, with September reports placing a listing no earlier than the second quarter of 2027.</p>
<h2 id="standard-chartered-is-already-chasing-the-same-institutional-clients">Standard Chartered Is Already Chasing the Same Institutional Clients</h2>
<p>VARA’s public register listed 58 licensed providers on October 12, up from 49 reported in May, with Binance, Crypto.com and OKX already operating under the Dubai framework and Bybit holding a federal platform-operator approval since October 2025. Banks are now competing for the same flow, with Standard Chartered launching spot Bitcoin and Ether trading for institutional clients through its DIFC branch in September under Dubai Financial Services Authority rules, and Capital.com plans spot crypto for UAE clients after its affiliate Capital Vault received a license from the Capital Market Authority. These regulators run separate systems, so a VARA license does not extend to activity supervised by the DFSA, ADGM or federal authorities.</p>
<h2 id="no-launch-date-or-named-banking-partner-yet">No Launch Date or Named Banking Partner Yet</h2>
<p>Payward has given no date beyond the coming weeks and has not named the banks handling AED transfers, while derivatives and the yield products planned for late 2026 and 2027 still need separate VARA approval. The published fee schedule and the depth of the AED order books after launch will show how much the license is worth commercially.</p>
<h2 id="nine-new-dubai-licenses-since-may-the-2026-crypto-rush">Nine New Dubai Licenses Since May: The 2026 Crypto Rush</h2>
<p>Kraken’s approval landed one day after Rain MENA’s, and the table below mixes those licenses with other 2026 moves, such as new offices and product launches.</p>
<div style="overflow-x: auto; margin: 24px 0 8px 0; border-radius: 12px; box-shadow: 0 4px 18px rgba(15,92,110,0.14);">
 <table style="width: 100%; min-width: 420px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.35; background: #ffffff;">
  <thead>
   <tr style="background: linear-gradient(120deg,#0b1f3a 0%,#0f6e7a 100%); color: #ffffff;">
    <th style="padding: 14px 16px; text-align: left; font-weight: 600; width: 80px;">When</th>
    <th style="padding: 14px 16px; text-align: left; font-weight: 600;">Company and move</th>
    <th style="padding: 14px 16px; text-align: left; font-weight: 600;">Type</th>
   </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
   <tr style="background: #f3f9fa;">
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><span style="display: inline-block; background: #0b1f3a; color: #fff; border-radius: 8px; padding: 5px 9px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">APR</span></td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><strong>Ripple</strong><br><span style="font-size: 13px; color: #5b6577;">Expanded regional HQ in the DIFC</span></td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><span style="padding: 4px 10px; border-radius: 20px; background: #efe6ff; color: #5a2ea6; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">Office</span></td>
   </tr>
   <tr style="background: #ffffff;">
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><span style="display: inline-block; background: #0b1f3a; color: #fff; border-radius: 8px; padding: 5px 9px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">JUN</span></td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><strong>BitGo MENA</strong><br><span style="font-size: 13px; color: #5b6577;">Electronic trading added to OTC desk</span></td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><span style="padding: 4px 10px; border-radius: 20px; background: #e3e9ff; color: #2a3f8f; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">Product</span></td>
   </tr>
   <tr style="background: #f3f9fa;">
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><span style="display: inline-block; background: #0b1f3a; color: #fff; border-radius: 8px; padding: 5px 9px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">JUL</span></td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><strong>Flipster</strong><br><span style="font-size: 13px; color: #5b6577;">VARA exchange services license</span></td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><span style="padding: 4px 10px; border-radius: 20px; background: #dff3f5; color: #0f6e7a; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">License</span></td>
   </tr>
   <tr style="background: #ffffff;">
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><span style="display: inline-block; background: #0b1f3a; color: #fff; border-radius: 8px; padding: 5px 9px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">AUG</span></td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><strong>Flowdesk and Deribit</strong><br><span style="font-size: 13px; color: #5b6577;">VARA broker-dealer licenses</span></td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><span style="padding: 4px 10px; border-radius: 20px; background: #dff3f5; color: #0f6e7a; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">License</span></td>
   </tr>
   <tr style="background: #f3f9fa;">
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><span style="display: inline-block; background: #0b1f3a; color: #fff; border-radius: 8px; padding: 5px 9px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">OCT</span></td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><strong>Rain</strong><br><span style="font-size: 13px; color: #5b6577;">VARA exchange and broker-dealer license</span></td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1ecee;"><span style="padding: 4px 10px; border-radius: 20px; background: #dff3f5; color: #0f6e7a; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">License</span></td>
   </tr>
   <tr style="background: #e8f6ee; border-left: 4px solid #157347;">
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px;"><span style="display: inline-block; background: #157347; color: #fff; border-radius: 8px; padding: 5px 9px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">OCT</span></td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px;"><strong style="color: #157347;">Kraken (Payward)</strong><br><span style="font-size: 13px; color: #2f6b4a;">Full VARA approval, AED funding</span></td>
    <td style="padding: 12px 16px;"><span style="padding: 4px 10px; border-radius: 20px; background: #157347; color: #ffffff; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">License</span></td>
   </tr>
  </tbody>
 </table>
</div>
<p style="font-size: 13px; color: #667085; margin: 0 0 24px 0; font-style: italic;">Selected 2026 crypto expansions in the UAE. Sources: VARA register, company announcements.</p>
<p>Ripple’s move added physical capacity, with an <a href="https://ripple.com/ripple-press/ripple-reinforces-commitment-to-the-middle-east-with-expanded-presence-in-the-uae/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">expanded Middle East and Africa headquarters</a> in the DIFC sized to double its regional team, building on a DFSA license held since March 2025. Once Kraken seeks derivatives approval, it will meet Deribit on home ground, since the Coinbase-owned venue moved its global headquarters to Dubai in early 2025 and added spot trading routed through Coinbase Exchange after its August VARA broker-dealer license.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://ethnews.com/kraken-returns-to-the-uae-this-time-through-dubais-regulator/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Kraken Returns to the UAE, This Time Through Dubai’s Regulator</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ethnews.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ETHNews</a>.</p>

Kraken Returns to the UAE, This Time Through Dubai’s Regulator

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