Payward Wins Full Dubai Approval for Kraken UAE Services

Payward has received Full Market Approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, clearing the Kraken parent to begin authorized cryptocurrency services for retail, professional and institutional customers in the United Arab Emirates. The approval completes a licensing process that began with preliminary authorization in May 2026, but Payward has not announced a customer launch date. The company says the authorization permits it to carry out regulated activities covered by its license. A public register entry was reported as listing the license’s issue date as October 6, 2026. Payward’s announcement did not specify when onboarding would start; the company has indicated it is weeks away. At launch, eligible customers are expected to be able to deposit and withdraw UAE dirhams and trade cryptocurrency through spot and margin markets using AED-denominated pairs. Payward has not named the cryptocurrencies that will be paired with the dirham. The planned offering also includes onchain staking, tokenized equities through its xStocks product and cryptocurrency transfers through Krak.