Kraken's parent company, Payward, has received full market approval from Dubai's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority to operate as a regulated virtual asset service provider in the UAE. The company plans to launch services for retail, professional, and institutional investors, offering dirham-denominated trading pairs and access to various crypto products.
Kraken's expansion into the UAE with a full license signifies its growing ambition to bridge traditional finance and digital assets globally, potentially increasing competition and offering new services to a key financial hub.
Kraken's parent company, Payward, has secured full market approval from Dubai's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) to operate in the United Arab Emirates, marking a significant expansion for the cryptocurrency exchange.
With the license, Payward can now function as a regulated virtual asset service provider, catering to retail, professional, and institutional investors. This follows a preliminary approval received in May, which enabled the company to set up its operational infrastructure ahead of client onboarding.
At launch, UAE-based Kraken clients will be able to engage in spot and margin trading using dirham-denominated pairs. They will also benefit from direct dirham funding and withdrawal capabilities, alongside access to on-chain staking, tokenized equities (xStocks), and crypto transfers via Kraken. Institutional clients will be offered Over-The-Counter (OTC) spot trading and Kraken Prime services.
Further offerings, including crypto derivatives and new yield products, are anticipated later in 2026 and into 2027, pending regulatory clearance. Payward currently holds more than 100 licenses and registrations across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East.
The expansion into the UAE is part of Kraken's broader strategy to integrate with traditional finance. This includes a recent $100 million investment from Nasdaq Inc., which values Payward at $21 billion, and a deal to distribute Nasdaq's tokenized stocks on Kraken's platform. Additionally, Payward has partnered with SoFi Technologies to route customer crypto orders through Kraken Prime and list SoFi's stablecoin on the exchange.
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