The license permits WadzPay to initiate preparations for offering virtual asset services and activities under the VASP License for Transfer and Settlement and Broker/Dealer activities.
The Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has issued an “Initial Approval” license to the cryptocurrency company WadzPay, signaling a pivotal step in the company’s pursuit of a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license for virtual asset services and activities.
According to the announcement, Wadzpay’s VARA license permits it to begin preparations for offering virtual asset services and activities under the VASP License for Transfer and Settlement and Broker/Dealer activities.
The VARA license prohibits the company from offering any of its other virtual asset products or services.
The company’s platform provides business-to-business and business-to-consumer services.
Over the past few months, Dubai’s regulator has issued operational licenses of varying levels to crypto exchanges and firms, bolstering the city-state’s crypto-friendly reputation with its regulatory body and comprehensive rulebooks for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).
Crypto exchanges must qualify for provisional approval, a minimal viable product (MVP) license, and a total market product license to obtain a VARA license in Dubai.
At the end of October, the cryptocurrency wallet Backpack was granted a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license, resulting in the launch of Backpack Exchange.
Backpack’s VARA license limits its operations to crypto exchange services in Dubai and excludes its other virtual asset offerings.
The newly unveiled Backpack Exchange incorporates zero-knowledge (ZK) proof-of-reserves, multi-party computation (MPC) for custody, and high-speed order execution.
Komainu, a joint venture between Nomura, CoinShares, and Ledger, has also been granted a complete operating license by Dubai’s VARA.
After acquiring its MVP license in November 2022, Komainu completed the final stage of VARA’s licensing procedure nearly ten months later.
In August, Laser Digital, the cryptocurrency division of financial behemoth Nomura, obtained a license to operate from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).
This action is part of Nomura’s endeavors to establish itself in the digital asset industry.
The company unveiled its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license through its Dubai-based subsidiary Laser Digital Middle East FZE, allowing it to offer brokerage, virtual asset management, and investment services in the Emirates.
Binance obtained an operational minimum viable product (MVP) from VARA to operate cryptocurrency exchange and virtual asset broker-dealer services locally, resulting in Laser Digital’s new license.
