Payward, the parent company of the Kraken crypto exchange, has secured full market approval from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority. This license allows the firm to operate as a regulated provider for retail, professional, and institutional investors in the United Arab Emirates.
The company previously received preliminary approval in May to finalize its operational setup. Upon the official launch, users in the UAE will gain access to spot and margin trading with dirham-denominated pairs, alongside direct funding and withdrawal options in the local currency.
The platform will offer on-chain staking, xStocks tokenized equities, and the Krak transfer service. Institutional clients will be provided with OTC spot trading and Kraken Prime. The company plans to introduce crypto derivatives and yield products throughout 2026 and 2027, pending regulatory clearance.
Payward currently maintains over 100 licenses and registrations across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. This expansion follows a reported investment from Nasdaq Inc. in September, which valued Payward at $21 billion and included a deal to distribute tokenized stocks.
Additionally, Payward recently partnered with SoFi Technologies to route customer crypto orders through Kraken Prime and list SoFi’s stablecoin. Kraken continues to integrate traditional financial assets, such as stocks and bonds, into its platform to function as a primary account for users.
