Decentralised Exchange Operator License UAE

ISIC classification: Administration of financial markets (6611)

Typically requires Designated Zone status for VAT purposes

About this activity

Operates or provides the front-end and liquidity-pool infrastructure for a decentralised exchange enabling peer-to-peer token swaps without a central order book.

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

This is the "decentralised" naming variant of the same VARA Exchange Services license covered by ten other codes in this dataset. It's worth being direct about this one specifically: VARA does not have a separate "DEX" license category, and a genuinely decentralised, non-custodial protocol with no UAE operating entity generally falls outside VARA's jurisdiction entirely (nothing to license) — VARA regulates entities providing exchange *services*, not permissionless smart-contract protocols with no operator.

Practically, "Decentralised Exchange Operator" as a UAE mainland activity almost always describes a company running a front-end, order-routing, or liquidity layer with real operational control — which is exactly Exchange Services, AED 100,000 application / AED 200,000 annual supervision / AED 800,000+ capital.

If the underlying business is a genuinely non-custodial protocol with no UAE legal entity providing the service, this license may not be the right fit at all — that's a conversation worth having before assuming this activity code 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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