Kraken received preliminary approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority on Thursday. The clearance opens regulated UAE operations and pits the US-based exchange against Binance, OKX, and Crypto.com for institutional flows.
The local entity will offer spot, margin, OTC trading, staking, and Kraken Prime access for institutional clients.
New Competition For UAE Institutional Flows
VARA established Dubai as a regulated crypto perimeter early. The authority now lists roughly 49 approved entities across exchanges, brokerages, and custodians.
Major rivals already operating include Binance’s Dubai license, OKX’s Dubai virtual asset authorization, and Crypto.com’s preparatory licensing stage.
Kraken previously operated in the UAE before exiting around 2024. The earlier presence included Abu Dhabi exchange approval from ADGM in 2022, but that license sat outside VARA’s jurisdiction.
The new authorization routes activity through Dubai, the larger emirate for crypto-specific regulation. VARA has also tightened its license grip on existing operators in recent months.
Institutional services are the battleground. Kraken Prime gives qualified clients access to trading, custody, and OTC through a single account.
The product competes with Binance Institutional, OKX Liquid Marketplace, and Crypto.com’s institutional desk in Dubai.
“Dubai wrote a rulebook for crypto before most jurisdictions even acknowledged the asset class. That clarity is why real liquidity and institutional capital now sit in the UAE,” read an excerpt in the announcement, citing Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken.
AED funding launches later in 2026 and could deepen competition further. The dirham on-ramp pipes local capital directly into Kraken’s global order books.
How quickly Kraken converts the preliminary clearance into a full operational license will shape its near-term position against incumbents.
