Kraken's parent company, Payward, has received full market approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), allowing it to provide regulated virtual asset services to retail, professional, and institutional investors. Kraken plans to launch services in the UAE in the coming weeks, including AED-denominated spot and margin trading, direct AED deposits and withdrawals, on-chain staking, and tokenized stock trading via xStocks. Institutional clients will also gain access to OTC spot trading and Kraken Prime services. Crypto derivatives and other products are slated for launch in late 2026 to 2027, subject to further approvals. Payward had received initial approval from VARA in May this year.