Summary
VARA’s current register shows 12 active VASP licences with 2026 issue dates. At least one full licence bears a date in every month from January through July. (VARA Public Register, licensed-VASP and entity entries, accessed 31 July 2026.)
Flipster FZE holds the newest full licence in the snapshot. VARA issued its exchange-services licence on 14 July 2026. The licence permits service to Retail and Qualified Investors.
Web3Exchange DMCC holds the newest dated register entry. Its 16 July 2026 record is an in-principle approval, not operating authority. The register states that an IPA does not permit operations, virtual-asset activities, or client service in VARA’s Dubai jurisdiction before a full VARA licence.
The current snapshot contains 26 register entries dated in 2026: 12 active full licences plus 14 issued IPAs. This is a derived count, not a complete event history. The register publishes current statuses, not a dated change log.
The 12 full licences contain 16 activity permissions. Broker-Dealer Services account for nine, Management and Investment Services for three, Exchange Services for two, and two other activities for one each.
Five full licensees have some published Retail Investor permission. Seven pages list Institutional and Qualified Investors and do not list Retail Investors. YHEGO’s retail permission applies to Exchange Services, not its Broker-Dealer Services.
A full licence covers only its named activities and published conditions. VARA may impose narrower, time-limited, varied, suspended, or non-public conditions. (Law No. (4) of 2022 Regulating Virtual Assets in the Emirate of Dubai, arts. 15-18; Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023, regs. IV.A.1-3, IV.B.1-3.)
VARA’s territory covers Dubai’s mainland and free zones, excluding DIFC. Current federal law preserves the prior federal delegation to VARA, while giving the Capital Market Authority a federal role. A CMA number on VARA’s register does not, by itself, prove unrestricted UAE-wide permission. (Law No. (4) of 2022, art. 3; Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2025, art. 27(3); Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2025, art. 39.)
“Continues to show fresh authorization activity” is accurate if it describes dated register activity. The record does not establish a rising approval rate, processing speed, actual launch, financial soundness, or regulator endorsement.
Fifty-Two VASPs
VARA’s English licensed-VASP view reports 52 results. Twelve carry 2026 issue dates and Active status. Their dates span every month from January through July. The derived share is 12 ÷ 52 = 23.1 percent of that English full-licence list. (VARA Public Register, licensed-VASP and entity entries, accessed 31 July 2026.)
The 12 full-licence records are listed below.
- Flipster FZE (14 July 2026). Reference VL/26/07/002; Exchange Services; published scope: Retail and Qualified Investors.
- Tribe Tokenisation FZE (22 June 2026). Reference VL/26/06/002; Broker-Dealer Services; published scope: Institutional, Qualified, and Retail Investors.
- YHEGO Virtual Assets Exchange Service L.L.C (Yhego Technology Investment L.L.C) (2 June 2026). Reference VL/26/06/001; Broker-Dealer Services and Exchange Services. Exchange serves all three classes. Broker-Dealer serves Institutional and Qualified Investors only.
- CoinCorner Virtual Assets Broker & Dealer Services L.L.C. (5 May 2026). Reference VL/26/05/001; Broker-Dealer Services; published scope: Institutional, Qualified, and Retail Investors.
- First Crypto Exchange L.L.C (First Crypto) (26 April 2026). Reference VL/26/04/004; Broker-Dealer Services; published scope: Institutional, Qualified, and Retail Investors.
- Liquidity Fintech FZE (16 April 2026). Reference VL/26/04/003; Broker-Dealer Services; published scope: Institutional and Qualified Investors.
- Daman Virtual Asset Brokerage LLC (16 April 2026). Reference VL/26/04/001; Broker-Dealer Services; published scope: Institutional and Qualified Investors.
- Amber Premium FZE (2 April 2026). Reference VL/26/03/003; Broker-Dealer Services, Management and Investment Services, and Lending and Borrowing Services; published scope: Institutional and Qualified Investors.
- RIV Technologies FZE (27 March 2026). Reference VL/26/03/002; Advisory Services; published scope: Institutional and Qualified Investors.
- XBase Virtual Assets Broker & Dealer Services LLC (19 March 2026). Reference VL/17/03/001, as published; Broker-Dealer Services; Spot OTC Trading Only; published scope: Institutional and Qualified Investors.
- Animoca Brands Middle East Advisory FZCO (5 February 2026). Reference VL/26/02/001; Management and Investment Services and Broker-Dealer Services; published scope: Institutional and Qualified Investors.
- Nova Digital FZE (30 January 2026). Reference VL/26/01/001; Management and Investment Services; published scope: Institutional and Qualified Investors.
Fourteen IPAs
The snapshot also contains 14 issued IPAs with 2026 dates. These entries broaden the evidence of recent regulator action. They do not add 14 operating VASPs. VARA calls an IPA a conditional licensing step. The register states that an IPA does not permit operations, virtual-asset activities, or client service in VARA’s Dubai jurisdiction before a full VARA licence. (VARA Public Register, IPA notice and entity entries, accessed 31 July 2026.)
The IPA entries below give the proposed activities and published prospective client scope. Those fields do not override the operating prohibition.
- Web3Exchange DMCC (16 July 2026). Reference IPA/26/07/001; Broker-Dealer Services and Exchange Services; prospective scope: Institutional, Qualified, and Retail Investors.
- Triple A Technologies FZCO ("Triple A") (30 June 2026). Reference IPA/26/06/004; Broker-Dealer Services; prospective scope: Institutional, Qualified, and Retail Investors.
- Lexim Trading DMCC (Lexim) (12 June 2026). Reference IPA/26/06/003; Broker-Dealer Services; prospective client scope is not stated on the entry.
- Revolut Digital Assets FZE (5 June 2026). Reference IPA/26/06/002; Broker-Dealer Services, Exchange Services, and Management and Investment Services; prospective scope: Retail Investors.
- Flowdesk Omega FZE (4 June 2026). Reference IPA/26/06/001; Broker-Dealer Services; prospective scope: Institutional and Qualified Investors.
- Payward FZCO (Kraken) (13 May 2026). Reference IPA/26/05/002; Management and Investment Services and Broker-Dealer Services; prospective scope: Institutional, Qualified, and Retail Investors.
- Atlas AI Labs FZE (11 May 2026). Reference IPA/26/05/003; Category 1 VA Issuance; prospective scope: Institutional Investors.
- First Answer Custody FZE (11 May 2026). Reference IPA/26/05/004; Custody Services; prospective scope: Qualified and Institutional Investors, excluding individual Qualified Investors.
- Standard Chartered Bank (1 May 2026). Reference IPA/26/05/001; Broker-Dealer Services; prospective scope: Qualified Investors.
- ARP Digital FZCO (21 April 2026). Reference IPA/26/04/002; Broker-Dealer Services; prospective scope: Institutional and Qualified Investors.
- Rain MENA FZE (7 April 2026). Reference IPA/26/04/001; Exchange Services and Broker-Dealer Services; prospective scope: Institutional, Qualified, and Retail Investors.
- ARBEAT GROUP FZE (22 January 2026). Reference IPA/26/01/003; Broker-Dealer Services and Exchange Services; prospective scope: Institutional, Qualified, and Retail Investors.
- Shipfinex FZCO (14 January 2026). Reference IPA/26/01/002; Broker-Dealer Services; prospective client scope is not stated on the entry.
- Stake RWA FZE (7 January 2026). Reference IPA/26/01/001; Broker-Dealer Services; prospective scope: Institutional, Qualified, and Retail Investors.
The combined derived count is 12 + 14 = 26 current register entries dated in 2026. It measures records visible on 31 July 2026. It does not measure all decisions issued during the period. The register does not provide a stage-transition history.
A full VASP licence and an IPA have different legal effects
A full licence can support operations only within its stated scope. An IPA cannot. Dubai Law No. (4) of 2022 bars a person from conducting a covered activity without a VARA permit. The same law binds each activity to the permit’s requirements and controls. (Law No. (4) of 2022, arts. 15(a), 15(d), 16.)
The current VARA Regulations add three controls. An entity must obtain prior authorization. It must hold a licence for each VA Activity. It must comply with the conditions attached to that licence. VARA may define a narrower activity, impose limits, set a term, vary a licence, suspend it, or revoke it. (Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023, regs. III.A.1, IV.A.1-3, IV.B.1-3.)
VARA’s public notice resolves the apparent conflict in the IPA entries. Several IPA pages list prospective investor classes. The register-wide notice qualifies those fields. It states that an IPA does not permit the applicant to begin operations, conduct virtual-asset activities, or serve clients in VARA’s Dubai jurisdiction before receiving a full VARA licence. Those fields describe conditional or prospective scope. They do not confer present operating permission under the IPA. (VARA Public Register, IPA notice and individual IPA entity entries, accessed 31 July 2026.)
VARA’s application page uses a second preliminary term, Approval to Incorporate. ATI permits legal incorporation and operational setup. It does not permit VA activities. The page describes a full-licence stage after ATI. Current official materials do not expressly equate ATI with IPA. Both are preliminary and non-operational. The available record does not prove they are identical. (VARA Licence Applications, accessed 31 July 2026.)
Calling every record a “licence” would therefore misstate the current position. “Authorization activity” is acceptable as a generic label only when each record keeps its full-licence or IPA classification. “Licensed to operate” should be reserved for an active full licence, subject to its conditions.
Each licence is bounded by activity, clients, and conditions
The 12 full licences contain 16 published activity permissions. Nine include Broker-Dealer Services. Three include Management and Investment Services. Two include Exchange Services. One includes Lending and Borrowing Services. One includes Advisory Services. No 2026 full-licence entry lists Custody Services, Transfer and Settlement Services, or Category 1 VA Issuance.
Those totals count permissions, not firms. Amber Premium holds three activity permissions. YHEGO and Animoca each hold two. The other nine firms each hold one.
Client scope also differs by licence. Five licensees have some retail permission: Flipster, Tribe, YHEGO, CoinCorner, and First Crypto. Seven pages list Institutional and Qualified Investors and do not list Retail Investors. YHEGO’s two activities have different client limits. XBase’s licence is limited to Spot OTC Trading Only.
The law makes those distinctions operative. Article 15(d) of Dubai Law No. (4) of 2022 limits activity to the permit’s terms. Regulation IV.B.1 states that the licence specifies permitted activities. It also lets VARA narrow the description and add conditions. A firm name, group brand, or commercial licence cannot enlarge that permission.
The public register is a summary, not the full licence instrument. VARA may communicate binding Directives directly to a licensee. Such a Directive need not appear on the public page. (Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023, regs. I.B.3(a)-(c), IV.A.3.) The safest scope statement identifies the named Dubai entity, exact activity, client class, status, and published condition. The licence instrument and later VARA action control the authorized scope.
Dubai authority stops at DIFC and sits beside federal supervision
The register does not prove nationwide permission. Dubai Law No. (4) of 2022 applies across Dubai’s mainland, special development zones, and free zones. It excludes the Dubai International Financial Centre. (Law No. (4) of 2022, art. 3.)
Federal law now adds a second layer. Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2025 took effect on 1 January 2026. Article 27(3) preserves Cabinet Resolutions 111 and 112 of 2022, and decisions under them, until repeal, amendment, or replacement. The preservation applies only to provisions that do not conflict with current federal law.
Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2025 took effect on 1 January 2026. Article 39 gives the Capital Market Authority responsibility for investment-purpose virtual-asset trading and related services. That article addresses asset registration and platform admission. Articles 82 and 83 preserve prior measures and require status adjustment within one year.
CMA Chairman Resolution No. (04/Chairman) of 2026 adopts new VASP modules. Its General Module uses broad language for VASP activities conducted in or from the UAE. The accessible texts do not expressly repeal Cabinet Resolution 112 or displace VARA. Federal Decree-Law No. (32) instead preserves that delegation, subject to current federal law. (Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2025, art. 27(3); Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2025, arts. 39, 82-85; CMA Chairman Resolution No. (04/Chairman) of 2026, arts. 1-7; General Module, arts. 2, 4, 12.)
The two layers can coexist. Their firm-specific effect requires care. Every 2026 full-licence entry displays a CMA registration number. Some IPA entries display one. A displayed number proves the content of the register field. It does not establish unrestricted federal activity, product, client, or geographic scope. (VARA Public Register and individual entity entries, accessed 31 July 2026.)
The strongest contrary reading starts with General Module articles 1, 2, and 4. “Authority” means the CMA. The module applies to any person conducting VASP activity in or from the UAE. It prohibits that activity unless the CMA licenses it. Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2025 preserves Cabinet Decision No. 112 of 2022 only to the extent it does not conflict with current federal law. A VARA licence may therefore be insufficient by itself for some federal permissions or transition duties. The same preservation clause prevents the opposite claim that VARA’s role vanished automatically.
CMA Resolution No. (16/Chairman) of 2026 permits Central Bank licensees, except insurance companies, to practice activities identified in Resolution 04/2026. It does not purport to convert a VARA IPA into a full VARA licence. (CMA Resolution No. (16/Chairman) of 2026, arts. 1-2.) A firm should verify its CMA registration, federal activity status, asset permissions, and transition terms separately.
