The United Kingdom-based financial company Revolut has obtained approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to provide services related to cryptocurrency in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This green light allows the London-headquartered fintech company to function as a broker-dealer and offer management, investment, and exchange services within the UAE.

In a notice released on Wednesday, Revolut said that VARA had granted it in-principle approval, which came after the Central Bank of the UAE had already authorized its payment activities. The company stated that its services, accessible through the Revolut app and the Revolut X exchange, will enable users based in the UAE to purchase, trade, and store digital assets.

Joseph Khair, Revolut’s head of digital assets in the UAE free zone establishment, commented on the development. “This approval lays the foundation for Revolut to introduce its trusted virtual asset services within a regulated environment,” he said.

This regulatory milestone in the UAE comes after Revolut was awarded a UK banking license in March. The company is pursuing further international growth, with similar applications still awaiting decisions for a US banking charter and licensing in Peru as part of its expansion strategy.

At the time of this report, VARA's official registry listed 51 firms as licensed to deliver crypto-related services in the UAE. An additional 22 entities have been granted in-principle approval. For example, in May, the regulatory body preliminarily approved Payward, the parent company of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. That company is anticipated to commence full operations in the region shortly.

In separate news, a Revolut spokesperson informed Cointelegraph last week about the company’s intention to delist the Tether (USDT) stablecoin for customers in the European Economic Area and Switzerland, beginning this August. This decision was made following an assessment of Revolut’s crypto offerings and risk factors under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. The MiCA regulation stipulates that companies providing digital asset services must be licensed by the first of July.