Cryptocurrency Brokerage 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

Executes buy and sell orders for cryptocurrency on behalf of clients, matching them with exchanges or liquidity providers for a commission.

Regulatory requirements

Requires external approval — Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) (Dubai) / Securities & Commodities Authority (SCA) (other Emirates)

100% foreign ownershipYes

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

Market Analysis

VARA's Broker-Dealer Services category, appearing under DED naming as "Cryptocurrency Brokerage" here and also as "Digital Asset Brokerage," "Virtual Asset Broker-Dealer," and "Virtual Asset Brokerage" elsewhere in this dataset — four codes, one license. AED 100,000 application fee, AED 200,000/year supervision, with capital requirements around AED 400,000-600,000 depending on whether the firm holds client funds/assets as part of executing trades.

Dubai-only in practice given VARA's jurisdiction. Broker-dealers sit between retail clients and exchanges/liquidity venues — a genuine, well-established role in traditional finance that VARA has carried over into its virtual-asset framework rather than inventing from scratch.

100% foreign ownership applies. As with the exchange and custody clusters, the AED 20,000 DED figure in this dataset is a small fraction of the real regulatory cost.

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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