Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has received preliminary approval for a broker-dealer, investment and management licence from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The authorization grants Kraken regulated access to institutional and retail clients in the United Arab Emirates through a local subsidiary.
UAE clients will access Kraken’s global order books with the ability to fund and withdraw in local dirhams (AED). Kraken, founded in 2011, operates as one of the world’s longest-standing crypto platforms. The platform offers trading, staking and custody services across hundreds of digital assets and, through acquisitions and affiliated offerings, has expanded into traditional asset categories.
Unified infrastructure drives expansion
The Dubai authorization forms part of Payward’s strategy to build regulated, on-the-ground operations in key financial centres. Payward filed a confidential S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2025 targeting a $20bn valuation but delayed IPO plans in March amid difficult market conditions.
The company has pursued aggressive growth through acquisitions. Completed deals include the $1.5bn purchase of retail futures platform NinjaTrader and the $550mn acquisition of derivatives exchange Bitnomial. A pending $600mn transaction covers stablecoin payments infrastructure firm Reap. Earlier acquisitions include tokenized asset issuer Backed Financial and token management platform Magna.
These integrations feed into Payward’s shared architecture – comprising a global liquidity pool, unified risk and margin engine, collateral and settlement system and compliance framework – allowing services to operate across markets while meeting local rules.
Dubai advances as regulated hub
The VARA licence positions Kraken within Dubai’s framework for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) outside the separate Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). VARA regulates activity across most of the emirate and has positioned Dubai as a structured jurisdiction for digital assets.
In April, VARA issued dedicated token issuance guidance, the first such category-based rules covering the creation, disclosure and distribution of digital assets, including stablecoins and real-world asset tokens. Exchange operator Crypto.com secured the first UAE central bank payments licence in May.
Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, said the clarity of the framework proved decisive. "Dubai wrote a rulebook for crypto before most jurisdictions even acknowledged the asset class," he said." Clients in the UAE get the same order book, the same balance sheet, and the same multi-asset coverage we run in every other market. The difference is the rulebook is written down, and the supervisor is local."
Kraken plans to introduce direct access to spot trading and staking in the UAE, subject to final regulatory approval. Over time, it plans to expand to derivatives, lending and additional investment products. The move builds on Kraken’s earlier regulated presence in Abu Dhabi.
