ARP Digital receives preliminary approval from VARA Dubai

ARP Digital, a Bahrain regulated digital capital infrastructure platform, has received in principle approval from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) allowing it once fully license to offer crypto broker dealer services in UAE.

ARP views this approval as an opportunity to extend its operations into the UAE which is considered one of the largest digital asset markets by transaction volume in the region.

As per the press release, VARA’s in-principle approval positions ARP Digital to serve that demand directly, providing regulated digital asset conversion to local fiat currency for UAE-domiciled corporates and capital markets participants.

ARP Digital was co-founded by Abdulaziz and Abdulla Kanoo, fifth-generation members of the Kanoo Group, which has operated continuously across the Gulf for 135 years and is one of the largest family-owned multinationals in the Middle East.

Abdulaziz Kanoo Co-Founder, ARP Digital noted that they UAE has accumulated a significant concentration of digital asset wealth over the past three years, yet with constraints in their ability to deploy capital into local assets.

He explains, “The gap has never been a matter of appetite. It has been a matter of regulated infrastructure. The VARA in-principle approval is ARP Digital’s commitment to close that gap from within the Gulf, under the same regulatory rigor our Bahrain clients have relied upon since our CBB licensure.”

ARP Digital has processed over $3.5 billion in digital assets since being licensed in Bahrain

ARP Digital, currently licensed as Capital market crypto asset service provider (Cat 3) by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), has processed over $3.5B in digital asset volume across a client base exceeding 450 institutional and corporate counterparties.

ARP Digital expects this will increase once they receive their full license in UAE.

Abdulla Kanoo Co-Founder, ARP Digital explained that the UAE regulators have chosen to build digital asset frameworks that meet institutional standards allowing them to integrate digital capital into the financial system.

He explains, ” ARP Digital’s role is to be the infrastructure layer that makes that integration operational. The VARA in-principle approval is one step in building a regulated platform that can serve Dubai as the region’s leading digital capital market across a whole range of sectors.”