A licence, not a listing.
A generic free-zone licence with a crypto-sounding activity does not let you provide virtual-asset services in Dubai. The real thing is a regulated authorisation, closer to a small financial institution than a normal company.
Tick a blockchain activity and you are trading.
A familiar free-zone licence with a crypto line added. It looks fast and cheap, until a bank declines you or a regulator asks a question you cannot answer.
A regulated authorisation you build under one regime.
Providing virtual-asset services requires a VARA VASP licence, or the FSRA or DFSA equivalent. Plan it that way from day one and the sector rewards you. Treat it as a trade licence and the gap surfaces at the worst moment.
Four regulators, one of them yours.
Where the business sits decides who governs it, and the regimes are not interchangeable. Settle this first and the rest of the build stays on rails.
| Regulator | Where it sits | Best read as |
|---|---|---|
| VARA | Dubai, outside the financial centres | The mainstream Dubai route. A VASP licence is required before you operate. |
| FSRA | ADGM, Abu Dhabi | A common-law financial-centre route. See the ADGM. |
| DFSA | DIFC, Dubai | The other regulated financial-centre route. See the DIFC. |
| DMCC | Dubai free zone | A separate proprietary-trading path, not client-facing VASP services. |
Why this matters first: the regime sets your capital, your people, your timeline, and which banks will consider you. The wrong choice is slow and costly to unwind once an application is in motion. We confirm the right one for your activity and banking.
A regulated firm, planned as one sequence.
The regime, the capital, the people, and the banking are one interconnected build, and they are decisions long before they are numbers.
The VASP licence and a physical office
Required before you operate, in the jurisdiction you chose. Everything downstream waits on this.
Expense-driven capital
Set per activity as the higher of a fixed sum or a share of your expenses. It is a floor that scales with you.
Two Responsible Individuals
UAE-resident, full-time, fit-and-proper. Accountable roles, not nominees, and a recurring cost.
Banking, prepared in parallel
The corporate account is built alongside the licence, never bolted on at the end.
Banking is not the last step. It shapes the whole plan.
For a virtual-asset business, the account is the hardest part of the journey, decided long before you apply.
The licence comes first
A licensed VASP can open a UAE corporate account; an unlicensed entity is routinely declined. The licence leads.
Due diligence is heavy
Banks want clean regulatory standing, a documented source of funds, and a clear picture of how money moves. Build the file deliberately.
Who decides here: the bank, not usIt runs in parallel
The banking package is prepared alongside the licence. A licensed entity unready for the bank loses months. See our banking page.
We will tell you when this sector is not yet your fight, and we will not dress a trade licence up as a VASP authorisation.
Some founders arrive ready for a regulated build. Others are better served by a different structure first, and the real answer saves them a stalled application and a declined account. You are paying for the judgement that decides which one you are, then a path the regulator and the bank both accept. You work with Manish directly, from first call to licence in hand.
Why founders in regulated sectors stay with the firm.
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Manish was instrumental in setting up our company in Dubai. Always responsive, readily available to answer our questions.
A trusted advisor, a skilled navigator of complex regulatory landscapes, with unshakeable integrity.
Great and professional support from Manish. I recommend working with him on any project.