Kraken parent Payward wins final VARA approval for UAE launch

Kraken has its permission slip for the UAE. Payward, the exchange’s parent company, has received Full Market Approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) for its subsidiary Payward FZCO. The approval came on October 12, 2026. It clears Kraken to begin serving clients in the United Arab Emirates in the upcoming weeks, with trading, staking and transfers on the menu. What the license actually covers The approval classifies Payward as a Virtual Asset Service Provider, or VASP. It falls under three categories: broker-dealer, investment, and management. The license applies to retail, professional, and institutional clients. That means everyday users and large firms are both in scope from the start. At launch, UAE clients will be able to trade spot and margin on pairs denominated in AED, the UAE dirham. Spot trading means buying and selling assets outright. Margin trading means borrowing to increase the size of a position, which amplifies both gains and losses. Clients will also get access to on-chain staking. Staking lets users lock up certain tokens to help secure a blockchain network, typically in exchange for rewards. Users will be able to fund accounts and withdr...