Bahrain-based digital asset infrastructure provider ARP Digital has secured a broker-dealer license from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The license enables ARP Digital to offer regulated conversions between digital assets, including stablecoins, and the UAE dirham for qualified investors and corporates. This marks ARP Digital's second regulated Gulf market alongside Bahrain, where it has processed over $3.5 billion. Concurrently, crypto market maker Flowdesk also secured a VARA broker-dealer license.
ARP Digital VARA broker-dealer license
- ▪ARP Digital's VARA license covers United Arab Emirates-based corporates, capital markets participants, and qualified investors.
- ▪ARP Digital, a Bahrain-based institutional digital asset infrastructure provider, secured a broker-dealer license from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
- ▪The VARA broker-dealer license allows ARP Digital to offer regulated conversions between digital assets and the United Arab Emirates dirham.
Dubai digital asset regulatory expansion
- ▪Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), established in 2022, oversees the provision, use, and exchange of virtual assets in and from Dubai.
- ▪In July 2026, Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued its 50th virtual asset service provider license.
ARP Digital institutional services
- ▪ARP Digital's services provide institutions with a regulated route to convert digital asset capital for deployment into local United Arab Emirates assets.
- ▪ARP Digital offers institutional services including over-the-counter liquidity, cross-border settlement, fiat on- and off-ramps, and wealth management.
ARP Digital growth metrics
- ▪ARP Digital experienced fourfold year-over-year growth in transaction volume in 2025.
- ▪ARP Digital is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, where the firm has processed more than $3.5 billion in volume for over 450 institutional and corporate counterparties.
Stablecoin dirham conversion services
- ▪ARP Digital's VARA license covers conversions between stablecoins and the United Arab Emirates dirham.
- ▪ARP Digital's stablecoin and dirham conversion services are designed for United Arab Emirates-based corporates, capital markets participants, and qualified investors.
Flowdesk VARA license approval
- ▪Flowdesk's VARA broker-dealer license allows the firm to serve qualified and institutional investors in and from Dubai.
- ▪Flowdesk, a crypto market maker backed by Coinbase Ventures and BlackRock, received a full VARA broker-dealer license on August 11, 2026.
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