Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has issued a virtual asset service provider licence to Payward FZCO, the entity behind Kraken's UAE operations. The licence, numbered VL/26/10/002 and dated 6 October 2026, authorises the firm to provide broker-dealer services and virtual asset management and investment services. Payward FZCO's public register entry is active and directs users to Kraken's UAE website at kraken.com/ae.
Two activities under one licence
VARA splits virtual asset business into eight regulated activity categories. Payward FZCO's record names just two: broker-dealer services and virtual asset management and investment services. The broker-dealer permission covers a wide set of functions — arranging purchases or sales between parties, taking client orders and accepting money or virtual assets for those orders, matching buyers with sellers, dealing on the firm's own account, making markets with client assets, and placement, distribution or other issuance services for clients that issue virtual assets. The management and investment permission allows the firm to act for another entity as an agent or fiduciary, or to take responsibility for managing, administering or disposing of that entity's virtual assets. VARA gives investment management and staking assets to earn fees or other value paid to proof-of-stake validators or node operators as examples of that activity.
Because Payward FZCO holds a single licence covering multiple activities, VARA requires it to satisfy the rules for every activity and remain compliant with each set of requirements. The firm also holds a UAE Capital Market Authority registration, numbered CMA-VASP-0101000-0067.
What the licence does not cover
The register entry does not list exchange services, custody, lending and borrowing, transfer and settlement, advisory services, or virtual asset issuance among Payward FZCO's licensed activities. That omission matters for two reasons. First, VARA prohibits licensed providers from using their regulated activity licence for proprietary trading or for trading their group's asset portfolio; proprietary trading requires a separate company. Second, VARA requires virtual asset custody to be segregated in a distinct legal entity with a standalone licence. Payward FZCO's entry does not include custody services, so any custody offering would need to sit elsewhere.
The distinction between a full VASP licence and in-principle approval is also relevant. Payward FZCO's entry is marked as a VASP Licence with active status, not as an in-principle approval. That means the firm has moved past the preliminary stage and can operate under the permissions granted.
Who the licence covers and where the firm sits
The licence permits Payward FZCO to serve retail, qualified, and institutional investors. VARA lists the firm's principal place of business at the DMCC Business Centre in Uptown Tower, Dubai. The public register entry points users to Kraken's UAE website, though the licence itself is held by Payward FZCO, not by Kraken as a separate named entity in the VARA record.
The two licensed activities give the firm room to handle client orders, match trades, and manage virtual assets on behalf of other entities. They do not, on their own, authorise running an exchange, holding client assets in custody, lending or borrowing, or advising on virtual asset transactions. Any of those services would require additional approvals or a separate licensed entity.
What to watch
Payward FZCO's next compliance step is to maintain the rulebooks for both the broker-dealer and the management and investment categories, since VARA expects a multi-activity licensee to meet each set of requirements. The firm's public register entry remains the place to track any changes to its licensed activities. As of the licence date, the entry lists only broker-dealer services and virtual asset management and investment services, with no custody, exchange, lending, transfer, advisory, or issuance permissions attached.
