VARA Grants Arbeat Full License as Exchange Moves Toward Launch

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has grantedArbeat Group FZE a full Virtual Asset Service Provider license for Exchange Services and Broker-Dealer Services, moving the company beyond the in-principle approval stage it entered earlier this year.

VARA’s public register lists the Arbeat VARA license under reference VL/26/07/001 and shows that it was issued on June 23, 2026. The license is active and permits Arbeat to serve institutional, qualified and retail investors through its approved Exchange and Broker-Dealer activities.

Arbeat’s announcement carries the same license reference and scope, stating that the company is now positioned to offer regulated exchange and broker-dealer services under VARA’s supervisory framework.

But the license is also the continuation of a story that Arbeat has been developing publicly for several months.

Unlock Blockchain reported in April that VARA had granted Arbeat in-principle approval in connection with its application for the same two activities. At the time, Arbeat was already presenting itself through an institutional lens, with its website highlighting OTC activity, aggregated liquidity and API and institutional connectivity.

From IPA to an Execution Story

What has changed since the IPA is not simply Arbeat’s regulatory status. Its public messaging has gradually moved from describing what it wants to build toward explaining how parts of that business are expected to operate.

In a LinkedIn post following the IPA, Arbeat CEO Khaled Guerbouz said the company was moving into what he described as an “execution phase.” He outlined work on exchange and broker infrastructure, RWA liquidity pools, tokenization frameworks with partners and payment flows connecting digital asset systems with regulated fiat channels. He presented those components as parts of an interoperable system rather than standalone products.

That history provides useful context for the full license, but it also requires an important regulatory distinction.

VARA’s license record for Arbeat lists Broker-Dealer Services and Exchange Services as the company’s licensed activities. The RWA, tokenization and payment components discussed by Guerbouz are not listed as licensed activities on Arbeat’s VARA record. They should therefore be understood as elements of the broader strategy the company has publicly discussed, rather than activities authorized by this particular license.

The immediate story is therefore much more focused: Arbeat now has the regulatory approval for the exchange and broker-dealer layer around which it has been building its public narrative.

Arbeat's Messaging Turns Toward the Mechanics

Recent posts from Arbeat itself give that transition more substance.

The company has published material explaining how request-for-quote execution works in digital asset OTC trading, including how larger transactions can be priced through an OTC desk rather than placed directly on a public order book.

Another recent post walks through what happens after an order is submitted to an exchange, describing a sequence in which an order is assessed, matched, confirmed and reflected across accounts.

Neither post proves commercial traction, but together they mark a shift in Arbeat’s communications. The conversation is becoming less about the abstract case for digital asset infrastructure and more about trading and execution mechanics.

Hiring activity offers another visible sign of that operational preparation.

Arbeat recently advertised for a Dealing Specialist or Senior Dealing Specialist to support what the company explicitly describes as its future Exchange and OTC activities. The role includes monitoring order books and liquidity, pricing across liquidity providers, verifying trades, reconciliation, supporting market makers and dealing with trading incidents. The posting also requires willingness to work shifts covering 24/7 operations.

This does not mean the exchange is already commercially live. In fact, Arbeat’s own website makes the distinction clear.

License Granted, Launch Still Ahead

Arbeat’s current website identifies the company as VARA licensed for Exchange and Broker-Dealer Services and displays the same VL/26/07/001 reference shown in the regulator’s register. It presents an OTC desk alongside planned Exchange Services and lists AED and USD deposits, fiat on- and off-ramping, major trading pairs and institutional liquidity among its offerings.

At the same time, the website explicitly states “Operational Launch Coming Soon.” It also invites users to enquire about its OTC services and the upcoming launch of the Arbeat Exchange.

That makes the distinction between regulatory approval and market execution particularly relevant.

When Unlock first covered Arbeat in April, the interesting part of the IPA was the company’s attempt to position itself around institutional infrastructure rather than simply another exchange entering Dubai.

That positioning remains visible today. Arbeat’s current website describes the company as developing VARA-regulated infrastructure for the “institutional-grade application” of digital assets and emphasizes large transactions and institutional liquidity.

At the same time, VARA’s license allows Arbeat to serve retail investors as well as qualified and institutional investors, giving the company a broader regulatory customer perimeter than its institutional-heavy messaging might initially suggest.

How Arbeat chooses to balance those audiences will become clearer once the exchange launches.

For now, VARA’s full license marks the end of one phase and the beginning of another. Arbeat has spent the period since its IPA explaining an ambition that extends from exchange and OTC infrastructure toward a broader, interconnected digital asset model. The regulatory approval now in place is narrower and more concrete: Exchange Services and Broker-Dealer Services.

The next question is therefore not what Arbeat says it wants to build, but what the company will actually bring to market when its operational launch begins.