VARA

The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, which licenses and supervises virtual asset activity in Dubai outside the DIFC. Operating an exchange, custody, broker-dealer or asset management service requires a VARA licence; software development and advisory work generally do not.

Where it comes up

VARA licenses and supervises virtual asset activity in Dubai outside the DIFC. It was built rather than improvised, which means the rules are clearer here than in most markets and the barrier correspondingly higher.

What it costs

Application and supervision fees, plus regulatory capital, scaled by the activities you seek to be licensed for.

Who it applies to

Anyone operating an exchange, providing custody, broker-dealer services or managing others' virtual assets in Dubai. Software development and advisory generally fall outside it.

How it actually goes

1. Classify the activityAdvisory, broker-dealer, custody, exchange, lending and borrowing, management and investment services, and transfer and settlement. Each is licensed separately.
2. Apply for initial approvalShareholders, senior management, the business model and source of funds. VARA assesses the people as closely as the plan.
3. Work through provisional and preparatory stagesCapital, custody arrangements, technology audits, compliance and AML frameworks, and a resolution plan.
4. Receive the operating licenceGranted per activity, with conditions. Marketing rules apply from the moment you are licensed.

VARA governs Dubai outside DIFC. DIFC has its own regime under the DFSA and ADGM under the FSRA, and they are not interchangeable — choosing the wrong one costs the whole application, not an amendment.

In short

• Dubai's virtual asset regulator, outside DIFC
• Staged licensing with capital and governance conditions
• Non-regulated Web3 activity is licensed normally

Where this leads

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