public licensing register<\/a>, the regulator lists companies that hold full virtual asset licenses as well as applicants that have received in-principle approval. Entries identify the activities each company is permitted to conduct, preventing an approval for one service from being treated as permission to offer every type of crypto product.<\/p>\nDubai license targets institutional crypto trading<\/h2>\n
Flowdesk\u2019s authorization covers broker-dealer services, one of several activity categories regulated separately under Dubai\u2019s virtual asset rules. VARA also oversees exchange, custody, lending, borrowing, transfer, settlement, investment, and management services through activity-specific requirements.<\/p>\n
For institutional clients, a regulated broker-dealer can execute trades, arrange transactions, and source liquidity within the boundaries of its license. The exact services available to a client remain subject to VARA\u2019s rulebooks, the company\u2019s operating terms, and the investor classifications stated in the approval.<\/p>\n
Dubai has placed particular controls around products offered to professional market participants. In March, crypto.news reported that VARA had introduced a crypto derivatives framework covering client suitability, leverage, margin, asset segregation, disclosures, and risk management.<\/p>\n
Under that framework, VARA can intervene during market stress or suspected misconduct by suspending products, raising margin requirements, ordering liquidations, or requiring stronger controls. The derivatives provisions apply to licensed providers offering exchange services and do not automatically expand the permissions granted under Flowdesk\u2019s broker-dealer authorization.<\/p>\n
Other crypto companies have also sought access to Dubai\u2019s institutional market. In May, Kraken\u2019s parent company, Payward, received preliminary VARA approval for broker-dealer, investment, and management services.<\/p>\n
Kraken said its planned UAE offering would include dirham funding, over-the-counter trading, margin products, and Kraken Prime access, although the May approval still required the company to complete VARA\u2019s remaining conditions before a full rollout.<\/p>\n
Bitpanda obtained a Dubai broker-dealer license in March 2025, giving the company permission to offer its digital asset platform to investors in the UAE. Earlier approvals for Crypto.com, Binance, and BitOasis also covered selected activities rather than providing unrestricted permission across every virtual asset service.<\/p>\n
Flowdesk adds Dubai approval after MiCA authorization<\/h2>\n
The Dubai license follows a separate authorization for Flowdesk Europe under the European Union\u2019s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation.<\/p>\n
France\u2019s Autorit\u00e9 des March\u00e9s Financiers granted Flowdesk Europe Crypto-Asset Service Provider authorization in June. Effective from June 30, the approval allows the French entity to provide regulated crypto services across eligible EU markets through MiCA\u2019s passporting system.<\/p>\n
Flowdesk Europe operates under registration number A2026-022, according to the company\u2019s announcement. The authorization was built on its previous status as a digital asset service provider registered with the French regulator.<\/p>\n
MiCA created common requirements for crypto service providers across the EU, replacing a system in which national registrations did not always permit cross-border operations. Authorized companies must comply with rules covering governance, capital, client asset protection, disclosures, and complaint handling, depending on the services they offer.<\/p>\n
Flowdesk\u2019s Dubai and European permissions apply to separate legal entities and regulatory systems. Flowdesk Europe\u2019s MiCA authorization does not grant operating rights in Dubai, while Flowdesk Omega\u2019s VARA license does not provide access to EU customers under MiCA.<\/p>\n
The company has received financial backing from investors, including Coinbase Ventures. Funds managed by BlackRock also provided debt financing as part of a funding package that Flowdesk announced alongside an extension from HV Capital.<\/p>\n
U.S. broker-dealer rules follow a separate system<\/h2>\n
For U.S. readers, Flowdesk\u2019s VARA approval does not authorize the company to operate as an American securities broker-dealer or offer regulated brokerage services to U.S. customers.<\/p>\n
Broker-dealers conducting securities business in the United States generally register with the Securities and Exchange Commission and become members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, subject to the activities covered by their registration.<\/p>\n
Wintermute followed that route on Aug. 6 when its U.S. affiliate registered with the SEC and FINRA. As crypto.news previously reported, Wintermute USA may trade equities and equity options, act as an authorized participant for exchange-traded products, and self-clear digital asset securities transactions.<\/p>\n
Wintermute\u2019s registration is limited to proprietary trading, meaning the entity trades for its own account instead of providing brokerage services to retail or institutional customers. Flowdesk\u2019s Dubai permission has a different scope because VARA specifically authorized services for qualified and institutional investors in and from Dubai.<\/p>\n
The SEC has also placed digital asset broker-dealer requirements on its 2026 regulatory agenda. In July, the agency listed possible amendments involving net capital, customer protection, recordkeeping, and financial responsibility requirements as they apply to crypto assets.<\/p>\n
The three proposed rulemaking projects also cover crypto offerings and the trading of digital assets through national securities exchanges and alternative trading systems. The SEC had not adopted those proposals as final rules when it added them to the agenda.<\/p>\n
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