ARP Digital, an institutional digital asset infrastructure provider headquartered in Bahrain, has been granted a broker-dealer license by Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The approval enables the firm to offer regulated conversion services between digital assets and the United Arab Emirates dirham (AED).

According to ARP Digital, the license extends to UAE-based corporates, capital markets participants, and qualified investors. The scope of services includes conversions between stablecoins and dirhams, as well as a regulated channel for institutions to convert digital asset capital for deployment into local UAE assets.

The VARA approval represents ARP Digital's second regulated market in the Gulf region. The firm is also licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, where it reports having processed more than $3.5 billion in transaction volume across over 450 institutional and corporate counterparties, achieving fourfold year-over-year growth in 2025. Bahrain was among the first Gulf jurisdictions to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets, with the Central Bank of Bahrain introducing its crypto-asset services module in 2018 under its regulatory sandbox.

ARP Digital's institutional service offerings include over-the-counter (OTC) liquidity provision, cross-border settlement, fiat on- and off-ramps, and wealth management solutions. The expansion into Dubai positions the firm to serve clients active across both jurisdictions, as institutional demand for regulated fiat-corridor services grows alongside increasing tokenization and digital asset adoption among Gulf financial institutions.

The license underscores Dubai's ongoing efforts to expand its regulated digital asset sector. VARA, established in 2022 as the emirate's dedicated virtual assets regulator, oversees the provision, use, and exchange of virtual assets in and from Dubai. In July, VARA issued its 50th virtual asset service provider license, signaling continued momentum in the jurisdiction's digital asset regulatory framework. Dubai competes for digital asset business with neighboring Abu Dhabi, whose Global Market financial free zone regulates virtual assets through the Financial Services Regulatory Authority, and with Bahrain, which has operated its own crypto licensing regime for several years.

Flowdesk, a cryptocurrency market maker backed by Coinbase Ventures and BlackRock, also received a full VARA broker-dealer license on Tuesday, authorizing it to serve qualified and institutional investors in and from the emirate.

Magazine: Thailand's 0% crypto tax. Bitcoin Red Team forced to use Chinese AI: Asia Express