Payward, parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, announced it has received Full Market Approval from the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai, clearing the way for a UAE launch in the coming weeks. The approval permits Payward to operate as a regulated Virtual Asset Service Provider serving retail, professional, and institutional investors across the emirate.
- Launch offerings: Spot and margin trading in AED-denominated pairs, direct AED funding and withdrawals, on-chain staking, xStocks, Krak crypto transfers, OTC spot trading, and Kraken Prime for institutional clients
- Timeline for expansion: Crypto derivatives and expanded yield opportunities expected in late 2026 and 2027, subject to regulatory approval
- Regulatory path: Preliminary approval received May 2026; Full Market Approval represents final stage of VARA licensing process
- Global footprint: Payward holds more than 100 licences and registrations across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East
From launch, clients in the UAE get the same order book and multi-asset coverage we run in every other market, under one of the clearest regulatory frameworks in the world. Payward’s regulatory infrastructure now connects them directly to Kraken’s market-leading liquidity, along with a growing range of opportunities across digital assets.
– Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken
The UAE launch extends Payward‘s strategy of building regulated operations in major financial centers. By connecting new markets to its core trading infrastructure, the platform provides clients access to unified liquidity, consistent execution standards, and a single compliance framework. The company operates on a shared architecture spanning one global liquidity pool, unified risk and margin engine, and integrated collateral and settlement systems.
Payward also plans to make its infrastructure available to regional partners through embedded trading as a service. Beyond Kraken, the company operates a portfolio that includes NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, and CF Benchmarks, each designed for specific customer segments and regulatory regimes while sharing the same underlying financial infrastructure platform.
Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken. Source: LinkedIn
