Kraken’s parent company Payward has secured a full Virtual Asset Service Provider license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, clearing the exchange to launch in the United Arab Emirates. VARA issued the license on October 6, 2026, and Kraken announced it on October 12, with dirham-denominated trading planned within weeks.
What did Kraken receive?
According to TokenPost and CoinCodex, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) granted a full Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license to Payward FZCO, the Kraken entity listed as the license holder and shown as active in the regulator’s register. Reports describe the approval as the final stage of VARA’s licensing process, following a preliminary approval in May 2026. The license permits the firm to serve retail, professional and institutional clients and covers broker-dealer activity along with management and investment services. In the layered VARA framework, a full VASP license is among the more comprehensive authorizations an exchange can hold, moving Kraken from conditional sign-off to a supervised operator cleared to onboard customers.
What services will the license cover?
Coverage from TokenPost, CoinCodex and Tangem indicates the initial offering will include cryptocurrency spot and margin trading against dirham (AED) pairs, direct AED deposits and withdrawals, on-chain staking, and tokenized equities. The dirham on- and off-ramp is a notable feature: it lets UAE users move between local currency and crypto directly on the platform rather than routing through other fiat currencies, which can reduce conversion friction and cost for local customers. The inclusion of staking and tokenized equities signals Kraken intends to offer more than plain spot trading from the outset, subject to the scope VARA has approved.
What is not included yet?
The approval does not extend to derivatives. According to the reporting, crypto derivatives and additional yield products are not part of the current license’s product scope and are flagged as possible later additions during 2026 and 2027, subject to further regulatory authorization. That means Kraken would need additional, separate approvals before it could offer leveraged derivatives or similar products to UAE clients, and customers should not assume those features will be present at launch. The staged scope is consistent with how VARA has licensed other large venues, granting core services first and reviewing higher-risk products separately.
How did Kraken reach this point?
The license caps a staged process with VARA. Reports note a preliminary approval earlier in 2026 before the full VASP license was issued on October 6 and announced on October 12. Sources differ on Kraken’s earlier UAE history — some say it entered Abu Dhabi in 2022 before downsizing its operations, others cite a 2023 office closure — but that background does not affect the current Dubai approval, which is a fresh authorization under VARA’s framework rather than a revival of an earlier license. The move effectively marks Kraken’s re-entry into the UAE through Dubai’s dedicated virtual-asset regulator.
When will UAE customers be onboarded?
Live onboarding had not begun as of the announcement. Kraken said it plans to start serving UAE clients in the coming weeks, according to the coverage, meaning the license establishes the legal basis to operate as a supervised VASP ahead of an actual consumer launch. Until services go live, prospective users should watch Kraken’s official channels for the launch date, the list of supported assets and dirham pairs at go-live, and any onboarding or verification requirements specific to the UAE market.
Why does the VARA approval matter?
Dubai has positioned VARA as a dedicated virtual-asset regulator, and a full VASP license is among the more comprehensive approvals a global exchange can obtain in the emirate. For Kraken, it adds a regulated Gulf base alongside its licenses in other jurisdictions and gives it a compliant route to a market with significant retail and institutional demand for digital assets. The approval also fits a broader pattern of major exchanges seeking formal licensing in the UAE as the region builds out its regulatory regime. This article reports licensing and regulatory facts and is not investment advice.
Sources
TokenPost — Kraken Wins Full UAE License to Offer Spot and Margin Trading
CoinCodex — Kraken Secures Full Dubai VARA Approval Ahead of UAE Crypto Market Launch
Tangem — Kraken gains Dubai VARA approval for UAE crypto launch
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David Okafor is STnews's DeFi & Web3 Lead, covering Layer-2 scaling, rollups, MEV, account abstraction and smart-contract security. His work follows STnews's editorial standards: primary-sourced, cited, and non-advisory.
Conflicts of interest
I do not invest in early-stage tokens. Long-term holdings disclosed at the bottom of each article.
