Key Takeaways:
Revolut received in-principle approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority to offer crypto services in the United Arab Emirates, the London-based fintech said Tuesday, while simultaneously moving to delist Tether's USDT from its European platform under MiCA compliance rules.
The VARA approval covers broker-dealer, management and investment, and exchange services through Revolut's consumer app and its standalone trading platform Revolut X, pending final authorization. The license adds to Revolut's existing stored value facilities and retail payment services approvals from the Central Bank of the UAE, which the company secured earlier this year.
"The UAE continues to demonstrate global leadership in establishing a robust and transparent framework for virtual assets," Joseph Khair, head of Revolut Digital Assets FZE in the UAE, said in a statement. "This approval lays the foundation for Revolut to introduce its trusted virtual asset services within a regulated environment."
Revolut serves more than 75 million customers globally, including over 16 million crypto customers. The company already offers crypto trading in the UK and European Economic Area and plans to extend those services to the UAE after securing final approvals. The VARA clearance follows similar authorizations for MultiBank and CoinMENA as Dubai's regulatory framework expands, with the Securities and Commodities Authority and VARA having aligned their licensing models last year to allow Dubai-issued crypto licenses to operate across the UAE.
Separately, Revolut confirmed it will remove Tether's USDT from eligible European accounts after the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets framework entered full enforcement. Affected users can sell or transfer their USDT holdings until Aug. 31 before the stablecoin is removed from supported accounts, the company said. Tether has not received MiCA authorization, with Chief Executive Officer Paolo Ardoino previously arguing that some of the framework's reserve requirements were not suitable for the issuer. The restriction applies only to notified customers in eligible European jurisdictions and does not affect markets where USDT remains supported.
The dual regulatory moves come as Revolut also prepares for a US expansion. Reuters reported in June that the fintech plans to launch a US bank next year after filing for a national bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, combining FDIC-insured banking products with crypto trading, stablecoins, and multi-currency services.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
