The Digital Belongings Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai’s crypto regulator, has granted its fiftieth digital asset service supplier (VASP) license.
On Monday, VARA mentioned its newest approval went to tokenized property platform Tribe Tokenisation FZE.
The milestone supplies one measure of the expansion of Dubai’s crypto licensing regime, although license totals alone don’t present what number of corporations are operational or the extent of enterprise they generate.
A VARA spokesperson advised Cointelegraph that holding an lively license doesn’t essentially imply a agency has accomplished its industrial launch. Newly licensed corporations could undergo a managed operationalization interval earlier than providing companies or onboarding prospects.
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On the finish of 2025, VARA categorised 39 licensed VASPs as absolutely operational. The spokesperson mentioned the regulator is validating an up to date determine for 2026.
Dubai’s bid to draw crypto corporations
Dubai has spent the previous a number of years positioning itself as a world hub for digital asset companies. As a part of that effort, the emirate established VARA in March 2022 as a devoted crypto regulator and has sought to draw crypto companies via a standalone licensing framework.
Towards that backdrop, Dubai’s 50 licensed VASPs exceed the totals reported in Hong Kong and Singapore, two different jurisdictions competing to draw regulated crypto companies. Every jurisdiction licenses various kinds of crypto companies, which means the headline totals don’t characterize similar classes of corporations.
As of Friday, the Financial Authority of Singapore (MAS) listed 37 main cost establishments (MPI) approved to supply digital cost token (DPT) companies. Singapore regulates DPT companies inside its broader funds regime relatively than via a standalone VASP regulator like VARA.
Checklist of licensed digital asset buying and selling platforms in Hong Kong. Supply: SFC
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Fee (SFC) has listed 13 formally licensed digital asset buying and selling platforms. The rely is narrower as a result of the regime is particularly restricted to platform operators.
The VARA spokesperson attributed Dubai’s market development to its activity-based regulatory framework and broader monetary ecosystem, and mentioned the regulator additionally considers transaction volumes, property beneath administration, employment and audited monetary knowledge when assessing market exercise.
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