ARP Digital, an infrastructure provider for institutional digital asset operations, has secured a broker-dealer license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). This license allows the Bahrain-based company to conduct regulated exchange of digital assets and stablecoins for UAE dirhams.
According to ARP Digital, the license applies to UAE-registered corporations, capital market participants, and qualified investors, including operations with stablecoins and dirhams. The company stated it will also provide institutions with a regulated way to move capital into digital assets for investing in local UAE assets.
Dubai has become ARP Digital's second regulated market in the Gulf region. The company holds a license from the Central Bank of Bahrain. It reported that in 2025, ARP Digital processed over $3.5 billion in transactions for more than 450 institutional and corporate counterparties—four times more than the previous year.
ARP Digital offers institutional services, including over-the-counter (OTC) liquidity, cross-border settlements, fiat on-ramps and off-ramps, and capital management.
The permission was granted amidst the expansion of Dubai's regulated digital asset sector. In July, VARA issued its 50th Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license. The regulator, established in 2022, oversees the provision, use, and exchange of virtual assets in and from Dubai.
Flowdesk, a crypto market maker backed by Coinbase Ventures and BlackRock, also received a full VARA broker-dealer license on Tuesday, enabling it to serve qualified and institutional investors within and beyond the emirate.
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