- Animoca Brands secures VARA approval to offer regulated virtual-asset services in Dubai
- The license enables institutional broker-dealer and investment activity across MENA markets
- Dubai strengthens its regulated digital-asset ecosystem as Animoca expands its footprint
Animoca Brands has received a Dubai VARA VASP License, a development that places the company inside one of the region’s most active regulated crypto environments. The authorization clears the way for the firm to provide broker-dealer and investment management services tied to virtual assets, targeting institutional and qualified investors operating in and from Dubai.
According to an official report, VARA’s public register shows the license was issued on Feb. 5. While the approval excludes the Dubai International Financial Centre, it grants Animoca Brands full permission to engage clients under Dubai’s local regulatory system.
Animoca Brands Gets Dubai VARA VASP License (Source: X)
For a company already embedded across global Web3 markets, the move signals a more deliberate push into MENA, where demand for structured digital-asset oversight has grown steadily over the past two years.
Scope of the VARA Authorization
The Dubai VARA VASP License allows Animoca Brands to run virtual-asset broker-dealer operations and manage digital-asset investment activities under VARA’s supervision. VARA, formed in 2022 under Dubai Law No. 4, oversees licensing, rulemaking, and compliance across the emirate’s mainland and free zones.
It remains the first regulator dedicated exclusively to the oversight of virtual-asset markets. Thus, the license confines services to sophisticated investor classes, but it widens Animoca Brands’ operational reach and ties its activity to a formal governance framework.
According to Omar Elassar, managing director for the Middle East and head of global strategic partnerships, the approval gives the company a clearer channel to work with Web3 foundations and institutional participants who require regulated access points rather than informal industry arrangements.
Building a Regional Base
The approval comes roughly a year after Animoca Brands set up its Dubai office, anticipating stronger Web3 demand across the Gulf. The company’s operations span three main segments: blockchain-driven businesses, advisory work for digital-asset organizations, and investment management.
According to reports, its investment portfolio spans more than 600 firms and projects, including gaming, metaverse, infrastructure, and early-stage digital-asset initiatives. Its ecosystem includes projects such as The Sandbox, Open Campus, and Moca Network, which sit alongside newly acquired assets.
In January, Animoca Brands bought Somo, a gaming and digital-collectible studio, adding another branch to its network of playable and tradable asset platforms. Several regional investments have followed in recent years.
In 2024, for instance, the company led a $7 million round for UAE-based Param Labs, with backers that included Delphi Ventures and Mechanism Capital. Activity has also extended into the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where blockchain investment clusters have become more visible.
A Tightening Regulatory Landscape
Notably, Dubai’s regulatory push has drawn a stream of digital-asset businesses toward VARA’s licensing regime. One such example, BitGo’s regional unit, secured approval in late 2025 for its own broker-dealer operations, sharpening institutional competition.
At the same time, VARA has shown willingness to enforce its rules, issuing penalties to 19 firms for unlicensed activity and breaches of marketing standards. Against this backdrop, the Dubai VARA VASP License provides Animoca Brands with a clear way to operate in a market where clarity is becoming a prerequisite for institutional engagement.
With the license now in hand, the firm can expand its digital-asset services across the region while operating under a framework that emphasizes oversight, disclosure, and investor safeguards.
