Daman Virtual officially launches in UAE after license from VARA

At the end of April 2026, UAE homegrown, Daman Virtual Asset Brokerage L.L.C. known as Daman Virtual announced that it had secured a crypto broker dealer license from VARA Dubai as part of the virtual assets arm of Daman Securities, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daman Investments, a leading non-banking financial services group, offering investment, advisory, wealth and asset management, brokerage, and lending services with tailored portfolio strategies in the UAE for over 27 years.

Daman Virtual is now officially launching in mid May 2026 bringing its Daman Crypto to the market.

Shehab Gargash, Founder and Chairman of Daman Securities, stated, “The UAE has built the right conditions for institutional digital asset participation. Daman Crypto is our response to that opportunity, combining the heritage and governance of an established financial services group with the infrastructure that the next generation of institutional finance requires. We look forward to welcoming the market.”

Daman Crypto sits at the centre of an established financial services ecosystem alongside Daman Securities and Daman Markets, providing institutional counterparties with a recognised, credible, and fully regulated framework for engaging in digital asset transactions across the GCC and beyond.

Ahmed Waheed, Chief Executive Officer of Daman Securities, added “The launch of Daman Crypto represents a natural and strategic evolution for Daman Securities. Our institutional clients have expressed the need for a regulated, trustworthy pathway into digital assets, and Daman Crypto delivers on this promise, backed by the same operational discipline and client focus that has defined Daman Securities for over 27 years.”

As most of the recent UAE local crypto brokers and exchanges the aim is to cater to corporates, institutions, high-net-worth individuals and businesses, and not the retail sector which is already very competitive market.

As per the announcement, Daman Virtual enables secure conversion between fiat and digital assets, alongside spot trading. The platform combines execution, settlement and compliance within a single framework, with AED settlement, UAE banking rails, deep liquidity and institutional-grade operating standards at its core, designed to support large-volume transactions within a fully regulated environment.

Shehab Gargash, Founder and Chairman of Daman Securities had noted that the integration of digital assets into the broader financial system is no longer a question of if, but how. He added, “Daman Virtual is our response to that moment, built on 27 years of regulated financial services and designed for the standards that serious capital demands.”

Built on Daman’s broader financial services platform, Daman Virtual forms part of an established ecosystem alongside Daman Investments, Daman Securities & Daman Markets with a long-standing track record in financial services and deep institutional relationships across the UAE.

Ahmed Ismail, Co-Founder of Daman Virtual, explained “For years, institutional access to virtual assets has been fragmented, opaque, and largely unregulated. Daman Virtual is changing that. By bringing best execution, conversion and settlement into a single, regulated platform, we’re giving institutions the ability to participate quickly, compliantly, and at scale.

In a recent interview with Gulf News, Ismail noted, that their focus in on regulated virtual asset execution and conversion, with UAE banking rails and AED settlement at the center of the model. He adds that Daman Virtual has been built for institutional and professional clients from day one. That influences everything: the governance, the service model, the settlement process, the compliance framework, and the way we support clients.

In the launch press release, Ahmed Ismail, explained “Daman Crypto is the platform we built because the market needed it. Institutional investors deserve execution quality, regulatory clarity, and a service experience that matches their standards. This is just the beginning, and it starts with proving that digital investment banking and crypto belong in the same sentence.”

Onboarding has been designed to be efficient and frictionless, taking eligible clients from registration to first trade as seamlessly as possible. A dedicated relationship management team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week across all time zones, ensuring every client has a trusted point of contact from day one. The platform is available to eligible clients across the UAE and internationally, excluding sanctioned jurisdictions.

He notes that the differentiating factor is the combination of regulated virtual asset services, AED settlement, UAE banking rails, institutional relationship management and Daman’s broader financial markets pedigree.

Ismail who previously co-founded Hayvn now Deus X Pay, and has had much experience both in finance and digital assets. On LinkedIn, he noted, “The opportunity in this region is not just about access to virtual assets, but about building the right regulated infrastructure around them. UAE heritage, institutional standards, and a global outlook is exactly what we set out to bring together. Excited for what’s ahead.”

Updated on May 19th with quotes from official launch press release