Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority reiterates that VA proprietary trading in Dubai requires a No Objection Certificate and the correct trade licence code

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued a reminder to Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) on the licensing and authorisation requirements that apply to commercial entities conducting Virtual Asset (VA) proprietary trading in, or from, the Emirate of Dubai. VARA reiterated that entities engaged in VA activities, including VA proprietary trading, must undergo an assessment to determine the appropriate scope of regulatory oversight, with a consolidated registry of such entities maintained at the Emirate level. For VA proprietary trading, defined as actively investing an entity’s own portfolio in virtual assets, VARA stated that prior authorisation is required under the VARA Regulations 2023 and that entities must obtain a No Objection Certificate (NoC) and hold a valid commercial trade licence with the activity code VA Proprietary Trading, with entities lacking a valid commercial licence treated as in breach. VASPs must ensure that their customers who are commercial entities conducting VA proprietary trading hold both the appropriately coded commercial licence and a VARA-issued NoC.