Kraken Clears Dubai's Final Hurdle, Wins Full VARA License for Dirham Crypto Trading

Published October 12, 2026, 17:15 PKT. Based on Payward’s official October 12 announcement and reporting by crypto.news and LARA on the Block.

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has received Full Market Approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), clearing the final regulatory hurdle for the exchange to launch regulated crypto services in the United Arab Emirates. Payward announced the approval on October 12, 2026, saying it will begin onboarding retail, professional and institutional clients in the UAE within weeks through its local entity, Payward FZCO. VARA’s public register records the license as issued to Payward FZCO on October 6, authorizing broker-dealer services plus management and investment services under Dubai’s virtual asset framework.

The dirham launch: spot, margin, staking and tokenized stocks

At launch, UAE clients will be able to trade spot and margin products with pairs denominated in UAE dirhams (AED), depositing and withdrawing directly in the local currency without first converting funds on another platform. The initial offering also includes on-chain staking, tokenized equity products through xStocks, and crypto transfers via Krak, the company’s transfer platform. Institutional customers get access to over-the-counter (OTC) spot trading and Kraken Prime, Kraken’s service for professional market participants, drawing on the exchange’s global order books. Crypto derivatives and expanded yield products are planned for later in 2026 and during 2027, subject to additional regulatory approvals, according to the announcement.

Five months from preliminary to full

The full approval completes a process that began in May 2026, when VARA granted Payward preliminary authorization to establish its local operations in Dubai. That step allowed the company to build out its regulated infrastructure but did not permit customer-facing activity. The Full Market Approval now clears Payward FZCO to operate as a regulated Virtual Asset Service Provider for retail, professional and institutional investors alike. “From launch, clients in the UAE get the same order book and multi-asset coverage we run in every other market, under one of the clearest regulatory frameworks in the world,” said Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, in the announcement.

A crowded Dubai field

Kraken is entering one of the most active regulated digital-asset markets in the region, alongside Binance, OKX and Crypto.com, which also hold VARA licenses. Dubai’s licensed provider roster has grown from 49 to 58 firms in roughly five months, and Flowdesk received full broker-dealer authorization for its Dubai entity in August. Payward said its UAE operations connect local customers to the same liquidity it runs in Europe, the United States and the Asia-Pacific region, and it plans to make its trading infrastructure available to regional businesses through embedded trading services.

Payward’s 100-license expansion

The Dubai license caps a busy stretch for Payward. In September, Nasdaq agreed to invest $100 million in the company at a reported valuation of $21 billion, with the two working on tokenized equities, market surveillance and blockchain-based settlement infrastructure, including planned Nasdaq Equity Tokens in the second quarter of 2027. In October, Payward connected with Singapore Gulf Bank to provide round-the-clock U.S. dollar settlement for selected institutional customers across Asia and the Gulf. According to its UAE announcement, Payward now holds more than 100 licenses and registrations across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. The xStocks tokenized equity platform, which Payward developed through 2026, has processed more than $42 billion in cumulative transaction volume, crypto.news reported.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• Payward official announcement (via BusinessWire), primary source for the October 12 Full Market Approval announcement, the license categories (broker-dealer, investment, management), Payward FZCO as the local entity, retail/professional/institutional coverage, the within-weeks onboarding timeline, AED-denominated spot and margin pairs, direct dirham deposits and withdrawals, on-chain staking, xStocks, Krak, OTC spot and Kraken Prime for institutions, derivatives and yield products later in 2026/2027 pending approval, embedded trading services for regional businesses, the May 2026 preliminary authorization, the Arjun Sethi quote, and the 100-plus licenses and registrations figure
• crypto.news, secondary source for the VARA register entry, the xStocks $42 billion cumulative volume figure, the Nasdaq $100 million investment at a $21 billion valuation, Nasdaq Equity Tokens timing, and the Singapore Gulf Bank settlement arrangement
• LARA on the Block, secondary source for the license scope (crypto broker-dealer services plus management and investment services) and the milestone framing for Kraken’s UAE expansion