ARP Digital, Flowdesk secure Dubai VARA licenses

ARP Digital and Flowdesk secured Dubai VARA broker-dealer licenses, enabling regulated digital asset and stablecoin conversions for UAE clients and expanding institutional crypto services.

ARP Digital has obtained a broker-dealer license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), allowing the Bahrain-based firm to offer regulated conversions between digital assets and the UAE dirham. This license enables ARP Digital to serve UAE-based corporates, capital markets participants, and qualified investors, including stablecoin-to-dirham conversions. It also provides a regulated pathway for institutions to deploy digital asset capital into local UAE assets. This achievement marks ARP Digital’s second regulated market in the Gulf, following its operations in Bahrain, where it has processed over $3.5 billion in volume for more than 450 institutional and corporate clients, demonstrating strong year-on-year growth. The approval comes as Dubai expands its regulated digital asset sector, with VARA issuing its 50th virtual asset service provider license in July. Flowdesk, a crypto market maker, also received a full VARA broker-dealer license, enabling it to offer regulated virtual asset services to qualified and institutional investors in Dubai. Flowdesk’s expansion is supported by a $102 million financing package completed in 2025.