Flowdesk Obtains VARA Broker-Dealer License for UAE Institutional Crypto Services
Key Takeaways
- •Flowdesk's Dubai subsidiary obtained a full crypto broker-dealer license from VARA, following preliminary approval granted two months earlier in June 2026.
- •The license permits Flowdesk to offer digital asset broker-dealer services exclusively to qualified and institutional investors operating in and from Dubai.
- •Flowdesk raised $102 million in March 2025 to support international expansion plans that included establishing offices in the UAE.
- •The firm is additionally regulated as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider by France's AMF under MiCA and maintains offices in Singapore and the United States.
- •Dubai hosts more than half of all licensed Virtual Asset Service Providers in the UAE, with VARA established in 2022 as one of the world's first specialized virtual asset regulators.
Flowdesk Omega FZE, the Dubai-based subsidiary of French-headquartered Flowdesk, has been granted a crypto brokerage dealer license by Dubai's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). Flowdesk is a liquidity provider and virtual asset trading technology firm backed by BlackRock, Cathay Innovation, and Coinbase Ventures.
According to the announcement, the license enables Flowdesk to offer digital asset and crypto broker-dealer services to qualified and institutional investors operating in and from Dubai, UAE. The full license follows an in-principle approval granted just two months earlier in June 2026.
Guilhem Chaumont, co-founder and CEO of Flowdesk Group, described the VARA license as a defining milestone for the company.
"VARA has built one of the world's clearest and most ambitious frameworks for virtual assets, and this license allows us to bring that same rigor to how we serve institutional and qualified clients in the region," Chaumont said. "The UAE has become central to our own growth as one of the world's most important virtual asset markets. We're proud to now operate as a fully regulated broker-dealer in Dubai, and we look forward to our continued partnership with VARA as the market matures."
In March 2025, Flowdesk raised $102 million in funding, earmarking the capital for international expansion plans that included opening offices in the UAE.
Beyond its new Dubai authorization, Flowdesk is regulated in Europe as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) by France's Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) under the MiCA framework. The firm also maintains offices in Singapore and the United States.
Dubai has emerged as the UAE's primary hub for regulated Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), hosting more than 50% of all licensed VASPs in the country. Established in 2022 as one of the first specialized virtual asset regulators worldwide, VARA offers firms a purpose-built regulatory framework, which has attracted a growing roster of international crypto companies seeking regulated access to Middle East institutional capital. Other UAE regulatory zones overseeing virtual asset firms include the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the UAE Capital Markets Authority (CMA), and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Source: BusinessWire announcement
