Kraken moved closer to launching in the United Arab Emirates after its parent company, Payward, received preliminary approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
The company announced Thursday that it had secured initial approval for broker-dealer, investment and management licenses as part of its expansion plans in the UAE. A Kraken spokesperson said the exchange’s full launch date has not yet been confirmed.
Once operations begin, Kraken plans to offer funding in UAE dirhams (AED), along with services including margin trading, over-the-counter trading and access to Kraken Prime for institutional clients.
The expansion adds to Kraken’s existing presence in the region. In 2022, the exchange received approval to operate in Abu Dhabi under the emirate’s financial free zone framework.
Dubai has become one of the world’s most active crypto hubs, with VARA’s public register now listing 49 approved crypto firms across exchange, custody, lending and broker-dealer services. Major companies operating under the regulator include Binance, Crypto.com, OKX, Deribit and HashKey.
Kraken and Payward have not yet appeared on VARA’s public register. The latest company added was crypto exchange CoinCorner, which received approval earlier this month.
The move comes as the UAE continues to attract crypto companies with its relatively clear regulatory framework. Industry executives have increasingly pointed to Dubai’s crypto rules as a major factor driving institutional interest and liquidity into the region.
“Dubai wrote a rulebook for crypto before most jurisdictions even acknowledged the asset class,” Payward and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in the announcement. “That clarity is why real liquidity and institutional capital now sit in the UAE.”
Featured image from: cointelegraph.com