Crypto Trading Platform License UAE

ISIC classification: Other financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding activities, n.e.c. (6499)

Typically requires Designated Zone status for VAT purposes

About this activity

Provides a software platform for buying, selling, and swapping cryptocurrencies, including charting tools and order execution for retail and institutional users.

Regulatory requirements

Requires external approval — Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) (Dubai) / Securities & Commodities Authority (SCA) (other Emirates) & Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)

100% foreign ownershipYes

Facility requirementLicensed VARA/SCA-Compliant Office with Cybersecurity & Risk Controls

Market Analysis

Same underlying license as "Cryptocurrency Exchange," "Digital Asset Exchange," and eight other codes in this dataset — VARA's Exchange Services category, AED 100,000 application fee, AED 200,000/year supervision, plus AED 800,000-1,500,000 minimum capital scaled to custody risk. There's no separate "trading platform" tier at VARA; if the activity matches an order book, it's Exchange Services regardless of what the DED calls it.

Dubai is the default base because VARA itself sits in Dubai and licensees benefit from proximity to the regulator and the existing ecosystem (custodians, market makers, banking partners willing to serve VA firms — still a genuine bottleneck, since most UAE banks remain cautious about VASP accounts).

Sharjah and Abu Dhabi don't offer a comparable path for this specific activity — Abu Dhabi's virtual-asset framework runs through ADGM/FSRA instead of VARA, a separate regulator with its own (broadly similar) fee structure, so "cheapest emirate" comparisons across Dubai/Sharjah/Ajman don't really apply here the way they do for unregulated trading activities.

100% foreign ownership applies.

Available in: . A detailed per-emirate fee breakdown isn't published for this activity yet — check back soon, or get a scored recommendation for your specific business below.

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