Animoca Brands Secures VARA VASP License to Serve Institutional Investors in Dubai
Animoca Brands has received a formal VASP authorization from Dubai’s regulator VARA, effective Feb 5, 2026, enabling regulated broker-dealer and investment-management activity for virtual assets on Dubai’s mainland. The permission explicitly excludes the Dubai International Financial Centre and targets services for institutional and qualified investors, creating a clear channel for compliant capital flows into Web3 projects.
The license materially changes Animoca’s risk profile in the region by placing key client interactions under VARA’s oversight and by permitting onshore marketing and intermediation for larger investors. This outcome dovetails with Animoca’s recent product and M&A moves, including its January acquisition of Somo, and supports its existing platforms such as The Sandbox and Moca Network. Regional peers are following similar paths; notably, BitGo secured a broker-dealer licence for Middle East operations in late 2025, signaling a broader institutionalization trend. VARA’s stepped-up enforcement, which included penalties against 19 entities for unlicensed activity, has tightened the compliance bar and increased the commercial value of licensed status. For Animoca, the licence reduces regulatory friction for fundraisings and secondary trading offered to professional clients, but it also imposes governance, reporting, and marketing constraints that require robust internal controls. The differential treatment of Dubai’s mainland and the DIFC will shape go-to-market choices and custody architectures for tokenized assets. Market impact will likely include faster onboarding of institutional counterparties, more formalized custody and AML processes, and potential competitive consolidation among licensed Web3 intermediaries. Animoca’s ability to operationalize this permission will depend on local staffing, partner integrations, and adherence to VARA’s marketing and conduct rules. Overall, the licence converts regulatory clarity into a strategic growth lever for Animoca’s Middle East push, while raising the operational bar for compliant digital-asset services in Dubai.
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