Dubai VARA Grants Broker-Dealer License to Bahrain's ARP Digital

Woofun AI reports that the acquisition of a broker-dealer license from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority by Bahrain-based ARP Digital enables regulated conversions between digital assets and the UAE dirham. This strategic milestone establishes the firm's operational footprint in its second regulated Gulf market, leveraging its existing infrastructure to serve institutional demand within the emirate.

The license scope explicitly covers United Arab Emirates-based corporates, capital markets participants, and qualified investors, facilitating conversions between stablecoins and dirhams.

Structurally, the approval provides institutions with a compliant pathway to convert digital asset capital for deployment into local UAE assets.

Woofun AI data shows the firm's service suite includes over-the-counter liquidity, cross-border settlement, fiat on- and off-ramps, and wealth management, addressing complex institutional needs.

ARP Digital's expansion builds upon its regulatory standing with the Central Bank of Bahrain, where it has processed more than $3.5 billion in volume for over 450 institutional and corporate counterparties.

Notably, the company recorded fourfold year-over-year growth in 2025, underscoring rapid scaling prior to this Dubai entry. This trajectory highlights a deliberate strategy to replicate its Bahrain success across neighboring jurisdictions with robust regulatory frameworks.

The approval coincides with Dubai's continued expansion of its regulated digital asset sector, evidenced by VARA issuing its 50th virtual asset service provider license in July. Established in 2022, the regulator 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, signaling intensified competition among institutional service providers.