Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has secured full market approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The license lets Payward expand its digital asset services across the United Arab Emirates and clears the last regulatory hurdle for Kraken to introduce trading in the UAE dirham.
The approval follows a preliminary sign-off Payward received in May. With full authorization in hand, the company can now move from preparatory work to actually offering AED pairs to customers in the region.
From provisional to full: what changed
Dubai's crypto rulebook doesn't hand out full licenses on day one. Firms typically start with a temporary or preliminary approval that lets them build local operations, hire staff, and test systems under VARA supervision. Payward got that provisional status in May. The full market approval granted now means the company has met VARA's requirements for compliance, governance, and operational readiness — the less glamorous but essential groundwork that regulators want to see before letting a platform handle client money at scale.
Payward didn't say exactly when dirham trading would go live, but the company described the approval as the final gate before launch. For Kraken, which already serves clients in multiple currencies, adding AED is a straightforward extension of its existing fiat on-ramps. The difference is that UAE customers will be able to deposit and withdraw in the local currency instead of converting through dollars or stablecoins first.
Why the dirham matters for crypto in the Gulf
Local currency trading sounds like a back-office detail. It isn't. When an exchange supports AED pairs directly, it removes a layer of friction and cost for anyone in the UAE who wants to move between cash and crypto. That matters for retail traders, but it matters more for the kind of institutional and corporate clients Dubai has been courting — family offices, funds, and treasury teams that don't want to run every transaction through a foreign currency.
The UAE has spent years positioning itself as a jurisdiction where digital asset businesses can operate with clear rules rather than ambiguity. VARA was set up specifically to regulate crypto in Dubai's special development zones, and its approval process has become a benchmark that other regulators watch. A full license for a company of Payward's size is a signal that the framework is functioning as intended — not just attracting applications, but processing them through to completion.
What Kraken gets from the green light
Kraken has operated under Payward's umbrella for years and has been steadily building out its presence in the Middle East. The full VARA license gives the exchange a regulated footing in one of the fastest-growing crypto markets, at a time when competitors are also circling the region. Binance, OKX, and others have pursued Dubai and Abu Dhabi licenses, but the specifics of each approval differ. Payward's full market status puts it past the preliminary stage that some rivals still hold.
The company hasn't disclosed how much it plans to invest in UAE-specific infrastructure or how many local staff it intends to hire. Those details will likely surface as dirham trading goes live and marketing ramps up. For now, the approval itself is the story: a major exchange has cleared the highest regulatory bar Dubai sets for crypto firms.
The road to AED pairs
With VARA's full approval secured, Payward's next steps are operational. The company needs to integrate dirham banking rails, finalize compliance procedures for AED transactions, and coordinate with local payment partners. None of that is unusual, but it takes time. The May preliminary approval gave Payward a head start on much of this work, which is why the company expects a relatively short runway to launch.
UAE customers who've been waiting to trade crypto directly against the dirham won't have to wait indefinitely. Payward has said the final hurdle is cleared. The remaining question is how quickly the exchange can turn a regulatory green light into a live order book — and whether the dirham pairs attract the volume that would justify deeper investment in the market. Watch for an official launch date from Kraken in the coming weeks.
