Kraken’s parent company, Payward, announced plans to launch operations in the United Arab Emirates after securing full market approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
The license, granted Tuesday, authorizes Payward to operate as a regulated virtual asset service provider catering to retail, professional, and institutional investors. This follows a preliminary approval in May that enabled the firm to finalize its operational infrastructure ahead of client onboarding.
At launch, UAE clients will have access to spot and margin trading with dirham-denominated pairs, along with direct dirham funding and withdrawals. The platform will also offer on-chain staking, xStocks tokenized equities, and Kraken Pay for crypto transfers. Institutional clients will benefit from OTC spot trading and Kraken Prime services. Crypto derivatives and additional yield products are slated for release in late 2026 and 2027, pending regulatory clearance.
Payward currently holds over 100 licenses and registrations globally, spanning Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East.
The expansion coincides with a series of strategic partnerships. In September, Bloomberg reported that Nasdaq Inc. invested $100 million in Payward at a $21 billion valuation, with Kraken set to distribute Nasdaq’s tokenized stocks. Additionally, Payward and SoFi Technologies recently agreed to route SoFi customers’ crypto orders through Kraken Prime—launched in 2025—and to list SoFi’s stablecoin on the exchange.
Like its peers, Kraken is bridging crypto and traditional finance, enabling users to trade stocks, bonds, and other assets as it positions its app as a “primary account for everything.”
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