Payward wins Dubai approval for UAE dirham crypto trading rollout

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Payward Dubai crypto approval

Highlights

Payward FZCO secured a Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority license on Oct. 6, enabling launch of UAE dirham-denominated crypto trading services in Dubai.
Payward's license allows spot and margin trading, direct deposit and withdrawal, and management and broker-dealer services for retail, professional, and institutional investors.
Dubai’s VARA registry now lists 58 licensed providers, up from 49 in May 2026, reflecting accelerating growth in the emirate’s regulated digital-asset market.

Dubai license clears local market entry

As reported by Cointelegraph, Payward said its Dubai entity, Payward FZCO, has received approval from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority to provide crypto services in the emirate. The company says clients in the UAE will be able to trade spot and margin pairs denominated in UAE dirham and use direct deposit and withdrawal features when the service launches.

VARA’s public register shows the regulator issued Payward FZCO a virtual asset service provider license on Oct. 6. The license enables the company to offer management and investment services as well as broker-dealer services, and Payward says it can serve retail, professional and institutional investors under the approval.

The authorization follows preliminary approval granted in May 2026. Payward is targeting a launch in the coming weeks, marking a deeper push by Kraken’s parent into the regulated UAE crypto market.

UAE competition expands across regulatory regimes

Dubai’s VARA registry currently lists 58 licensed providers, up from 49 active companies in May 2026. The increase highlights continued growth in the emirate’s regulated digital-asset sector as global and regional firms expand local offerings.

Banks and brokers are also broadening crypto products under other UAE regulatory frameworks. In September, Standard Chartered launched spot Bitcoin and Ether trading for institutional clients in the UAE through its Dubai International Financial Centre branch, which is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

In August, trading platform Capital.com revealed plans to offer spot crypto services to UAE clients after its affiliate, Capital Vault, secured a virtual-asset license from the country’s Capital Market Authority.

Our earlier coverage of the GCC data center buildout explained how Gulf economies are treating data centers as core national infrastructure to support fast-growing AI and cloud demand. We also noted that digital sovereignty goals are accelerating investment in domestic compute capacity, with knock-on demand for high-capacity power and grid readiness to support hyperscale facilities.

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