Kraken’s parent company Payward announced on 12 October 2026 that Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority has granted it full market approval, the last licensing stage after the preliminary approval of May 2026.
What the register shows
VARA’s public register lists Payward FZCO with an active VASP licence, reference VL/26/10/002, issued on 6 October 2026. It covers two activities:
- Broker-dealer services.
- Management and investment services.
What Kraken plans
Payward says UAE clients should go live in the coming weeks. Retail clients get spot and margin trading against the dirham, AED deposits and withdrawals, staking and tokenised stocks; institutions get OTC trading and Kraken Prime. Crypto derivatives and more yield products are planned for later in 2026 and 2027, subject to further approval.
What changes in our data
The licence list now records the full VARA licence for Payward FZCO in place of the preliminary approval. The UAE stays available for Kraken: it was never on Kraken’s do-not-serve list, and the licence now gives Kraken a local regulated entity there.
Kraken
United Arab Emirates