Kraken is gearing up to launch its crypto services in the United Arab Emirates after receiving full market approval from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).
The approval clears the way for its parent company, Payward, to operate as a regulated virtual asset service provider in Dubai. The company will be able to serve retail, professional, and institutional investors in the region.
Kraken’s UAE Launch
Initially, UAE customers will get access to spot and margin trading, with trading pairs denominated in the UAE dirham (AED). Users will also be able to deposit and withdraw funds directly in dirhams. They may no longer need to rely on other currencies to fund their trading activity.
The launch lineup will also include on-chain staking, xStocks, and Krak, Kraken’s service for crypto transfers. Institutional clients will have access to over-the-counter (OTC) spot trading and Kraken Prime. The company also plans to introduce more products over time.
For instance, crypto derivatives and a wider range of yield opportunities are expected to arrive later in 2026 and into 2027. However, these services will depend on further regulatory approval. Payward also plans to offer its trading infrastructure to regional partners through an embedded trading-as-a-service model.
The latest approval is the final stage of VARA’s licensing process. It follows preliminary approval granted to Payward in May 2026, which allowed the company to complete its operational setup before bringing customers on board. Payward currently holds more than 100 licenses and registrations worldwide. Its regulatory footprint spans Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
Commenting on the development, Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, said,
“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. Payward’s regulatory infrastructure now connects them directly to Kraken’s market-leading liquidity, along with a growing range of opportunities across digital assets.”
Other Major Deals
Kraken has had a busy year. Deutsche Börse kicked things off in April with a $200 million investment in the crypto exchange. In June, Kraken joined forces with Maple to bring institutional-style lending protections onto the blockchain through a facility for loans backed by digital assets.
Then came Nasdaq in September, which agreed to put another $100 million into Payward. That deal valued the parent company at $21 billion. The two entities are also working on tokenized stocks, and a launch is targeted for the second quarter of 2027.
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