Revolut announced on July 15, 2026, that it received in-principle approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to offer crypto services in the UAE. The approval builds on a payments licence, per Revolut, already secured from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).
Key Takeaways
- Revolut received in-principle approval from VARA for broker-dealer, management and investment, and exchange services, subject to obtaining the relevant final regulatory approvals before launch.
- The fintech reports more than 75 million customers worldwide and more than 16 million crypto customers globally.
- The company, per Revolut, also received approval from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) for its payments activities this year, adding a virtual-asset license on top of an existing payments rail.
- Once fully licensed, Revolut plans to offer the approved services through its retail app and standalone exchange, Revolut X, letting eligible UAE customers buy, sell, and hold digital assets.
- Revolut would enter a market where, according to VARA, Binance FZE, Foris DAX Middle East FZE (Crypto.com), OKX Middle East Fintech FZE, Deribit FZE, BitOasis Technologies FZE, and Hashkey MENA FZE (HashKey) already hold active VASP Licences.
What Happened?
VARA, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, granted Revolut in-principle approval to offer virtual asset services in the UAE, covering broker-dealer, management and investment, and exchange activities. The nod also builds on a payments licence, per Revolut, secured earlier this year from the CBUAE, the country’s central bank and monetary regulator.
In-principle approval is a conditional step, not a green light to trade. By working closely with VARA and subject to obtaining the relevant final regulatory approvals, Revolut intends to offer the covered services through its retail app and standalone exchange, Revolut X. That structure would let eligible customers in the UAE buy, sell, and hold digital assets within a regulated framework once the final licence clears.
This approval lays the foundation for Revolut to introduce its trusted virtual asset services within a regulated environment, supporting VARA’s goal of fostering a safe, transparent, and innovation-driven virtual assets ecosystem, said Joseph Khair, Head of Revolut Digital Assets FZE, UAE.
THE BLOCK: Revolut receives in-principle approval from Dubai’s VARA to offer crypto broker-dealer, investment, and exchange services in the UAE.
— The Block (@TheBlockCo) July 15, 2026
The fintech plans to offer crypto services through its retail app and standalone exchange, Revolut X, subject to final regulatory… pic.twitter.com/V6l734FyOR
Dubai’s Crowded Field of Licensed Crypto Firms
VARA’s public register already lists several major exchanges holding active VASP Licences in Dubai. Revolut’s in-principle approval would place it alongside that lineup once its own licence converts to full status.
- Binance FZE holds a VASP Licence covering broker-dealer, management and investment, lending and borrowing, and exchange services.
- Foris DAX Middle East FZE (Crypto.com) holds a VASP Licence covering broker-dealer, management and investment, lending and borrowing, and exchange services.
- OKX Middle East Fintech FZE is licensed for lending and borrowing, management and investment, exchange, and broker-dealer services.
- Deribit FZE holds an exchange services licence, including virtual asset derivatives trading.
- BitOasis Technologies FZE and Hashkey MENA FZE (HashKey) hold broker-dealer licences, with Hashkey also approved for exchange services.
Why Revolut Is Stacking VARA on Top of CBUAE?
Revolut is not entering the UAE with one licence. It is stacking a payments rail under a virtual-asset rail, keeping both money movement and crypto trading inside licensed local entities. Revolut described the payments approval it received this year as reaffirming its intent to build a locally regulated, end-to-end financial ecosystem, the same language it now applies to the crypto approval.
That sequencing gives Revolut a head start other crypto entrants lack, since a banking grade payments licence already covers overlapping compliance ground. Whether that overlap actually speeds up final sign-off is not something either regulator has confirmed, and Revolut’s own release ties the launch timeline to approvals VARA has not yet granted.
CoinLaw’s Takeaway
This approval reads as a sequencing bet, not a symbolic one. Revolut already absorbed the compliance cost of a banking-grade payments licence in the UAE, and it is now applying that same locally regulated approach to virtual assets instead of routing crypto through an offshore entity. That order, payments before crypto, where regulatory clarity usually precedes large-platform entry.
The bigger signal is what the release does not confirm. Final regulatory sign-off, not the in-principle approval, is what lets Revolut onboard a UAE crypto customer, and no public timeline exists for that step. Until that conversion lands, Revolut’s UAE crypto business exists on paper, alongside a roster of firms already fully licensed on Dubai’s own registry.
