Key Insights
- Dubai’s virtual asset regulator VARA grants conditional license to OKX cryptocurrency exchange
- OKX’s Dubai subsidiary not yet operational as it works to fulfill VARA’s requirements
- Once fully approved, OKX Middle East to offer regulated trading services to retail and institutional investors
DUBAI – Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has received a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), though its subsidiary in the emirate remains non-operational for now.
VARA, set up after Dubai approved a law regulating cryptocurrencies last March, told MarketsXplora it had granted the license to OKX’s Dubai entity for exchange services. But the company still needs “to fulfil certain requirements” before it can become fully operational, OKX’s general manager for the Middle East and North Africa Rifad Mahasneh said.
Mahasneh did not give a specific timeline but expected this to happen within months. He praised VARA’s licensing process as efficient.
Once conditions are met, OKX Middle East will offer spot and fiat trading services, UAE dirham deposits and withdrawals as well as spot trading pairs to retail and institutional users in Dubai.
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Mahasneh said VARA’s oversight showed the importance of having defined regulations to ensure responsible growth as Dubai rapidly becomes a global crypto hub.