Revolut, a UK-based financial technology company founded by Nikolay Storonsky in 2015, announced that it has received in-principle approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to offer virtual asset services in the United Arab Emirates. This decision marks a significant step toward the company’s goal of providing regulated crypto trading within the country.
Pathway to Regulated Crypto Services
According to the company, once final approval is obtained from VARA, eligible UAE customers will gain access to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies through the main Revolut app as well as the dedicated Revolut X exchange platform. This development opens the way for Revolut to expand its crypto offerings into one of the Middle East’s leading economies.
The approval follows a series of regulatory advancements in the region designed to position the UAE as a hub for digital assets. Revolut currently supports crypto transactions for over 16 million customers across the UK and the European Economic Area.
Joseph Khair, head of Revolut Digital Assets FZE in the UAE, said the regulatory milestone “lays the foundation for Revolut to introduce its trusted virtual asset services within a regulated environment,” and aligns with VARA’s push to create a “safe, transparent and innovation-driven” virtual assets ecosystem.
Revolut’s services will be subject to VARA’s ongoing oversight, which includes requirements around governance, financial health, technology, cyber security, risk management, and anti-money laundering controls.
Mini dictionary: VARA (Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority), established in Dubai in 2022, is a government body responsible for regulating and overseeing virtual asset activities, ensuring compliance with local digital asset regulations and promoting a secure trading environment.
Revolut’s Regulatory Expansion in the UAE
The VARA approval is Revolut’s second major regulatory milestone in the UAE within the past two months. In June, the Central Bank of the UAE granted Revolut licenses for stored value facilities and category-2 retail payment services. These permissions allow users to store various assets—including fiat currencies, tokens, and reward points—and enable cross-border payments and merchant acquisition capabilities within the country.
Revolut emphasized that the new authorizations form part of a unified vision to create a locally regulated, comprehensive financial platform in the UAE, rather than representing two separate products.
| Regulator | Licence Granted | Date | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| VARA | In-principle Virtual Asset Service Provider | July 2024 | Crypto trading & custody |
| Central Bank of the UAE | Stored Value & Retail Payment Services | June 2024 | Payments, asset storage |
Regional and Global Developments
VARA, set up in March 2022, acts as Dubai’s central authority for virtual asset regulation and has so far issued 50 Virtual Asset Service Provider licenses. Entities recently licensed include Animoca Brands and prime brokerage provider LTP.
While Revolut expands in the Gulf, the company is making adjustments to its crypto product lineup in Europe. Due to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, Revolut has notified affected users that it will soon stop accepting deposits in Tether’s USDT and eventually remove the stablecoin entirely from eligible European Economic Area accounts. This move stems from Tether’s absence of MiCA authorization in the EU.
Impacted users retain the ability to sell or transfer their USDT holdings before services are discontinued and only customers in certain jurisdictions will be affected by this removal.
Revolut is also preparing to establish a presence in the United States. According to Reuters, the company plans to apply for a national bank charter and launch a US bank next year, aiming to integrate FDIC-insured offerings with crypto trading, stablecoins, and multi-currency accounts.
