With the regulatory clearance secured, Payward confirmed that it can now operate as a fully regulated virtual asset service provider. The designation enables the company to cater to a diverse clientele within the region, extending its suite of financial services to retail, professional, and institutional investors alike.
The achievement is the culmination of a deliberate regulatory process. It follows a preliminary approval granted to the exchange back in May, which allowed the firm to successfully finalize its operational infrastructure, complete technical integrations, and prepare its systems ahead of officially onboarding local clients.
At the time of the official launch, retail clients of Kraken in the United Arab Emirates will gain immediate access to a comprehensive suite of trading options. Users will be able to engage in both spot and margin trading utilizing dirham-denominated trading pairs. Furthermore, the platform will facilitate direct funding and withdrawals in United Arab Emirates dirhams, removing traditional currency friction points for regional participants.
Beyond standard trading pairs, local clients will also be granted access to a diverse array of specialized financial products. These include on-chain staking capabilities, xStocks tokenized equities, and Krak, the platform’s dedicated solution for seamless cryptocurrency transfers. Meanwhile, institutional clients operating within the region will benefit from specialized offerings, including over-the-counter spot trading services and Kraken Prime, the institutional-grade platform designed for high-net-worth and corporate participants.
Looking ahead, the exchange plans to introduce further financial instruments to the region. Crypto derivatives and new yield-generating products are anticipated to roll out later in 2026 and into 2027, though these future offerings remain subject to ongoing regulatory review and approval from local authorities.
The launch in the United Arab Emirates further extends Payward’s already massive global footprint. The parent company currently holds more than 100 regulatory licenses and registrations worldwide, with a compliance framework spanning across Europe, the Americas, the Asia-Pacific region, and the Middle East. This extensive regulatory network has allowed Kraken to position itself as a compliant, enterprise-grade bridge between traditional financial systems and the digital asset economy.
This regional expansion arrives amid a broader wave of high-profile corporate developments and strategic partnerships for the parent company. In September, industry reports indicated that Nasdaq Inc. was moving forward with a $100 million strategic investment in Payward, valuing the cryptocurrency exchange parent at an estimated $21 billion. According to those reports, the alliance will also see Kraken distribute Nasdaq’s tokenized stocks directly across its own trading platform, blurring the lines between traditional equity markets and decentralized infrastructure.
In addition to its alignment with traditional exchange giants, Payward has forged significant alliances with modern fintech leaders. The company recently announced a strategic partnership with SoFi Technologies. Under the terms of that agreement, SoFi customer cryptocurrency orders will be routed through Kraken Prime, leveraging the advanced prime brokerage infrastructure that the exchange launched in 2025. The partnership also involves listing SoFi’s proprietary stablecoin directly on the Kraken exchange.
These moves reflect a wider industry trend. Like many of its peers in the cryptocurrency exchange sector, Kraken is aggressively pushing into the traditional finance space, aiming to provide users with a unified interface where they can seamlessly trade stocks, bonds, and digital assets side by side. The company has actively marketed its application as a comprehensive financial hub designed to serve as a primary account for everything related to modern personal and institutional finance.
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