VARA’s Year-End IPA Push Signals a More Structured 2026 for Digital Assets

As 2026 begins, a closer look at regulatory activity in the final weeks of the previous year offers a clear signal of where Dubai’s digital asset framework is heading. In late December 2025, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued a notable number of in-principle approvals (IPAs), quietly accelerating the licensing pipeline for virtual asset firms and setting a more structured tone for the year ahead.

The timing is significant. Rather than dispersing approvals evenly throughout the year, VARA appeared to consolidate and advance a group of mature applications before year-end. While an IPA does not grant operational authorization, it confirms that an applicant has met core regulatory expectations around governance, compliance, and risk management — a critical milestone in Dubai’s licensing process.

Among the entities receiving approvals were Daman Virtual Asset Brokerage LLC and Tribe Tokenization FZE, both authorized to operate under broker-dealer services. Their inclusion reinforces VARA’s continued preference for brokerage-led models as the primary regulatory entry point, particularly for firms involved in asset distribution rather than infrastructure-heavy or exchange-centric operations.

A similar framework was applied to Nawy Shares FZCO, the entity behind SmartCrowd, which also received an IPA for broker-dealer services. The approval reflects VARA’s growing comfort with tokenized and fractionalized investment structures when they are positioned within controlled distribution models and established investor protection frameworks. It also underlines the regulator’s view of tokenization as an extension of regulated financial activity rather than a standalone Web3 experiment.

Other approvals issued during the same period point to a selective openness toward more complex business models. Automata FZE, operating under the Vancelian brand, was granted an IPA covering management and investment services, lending and borrowing, advisory services, and broker-dealer activities. Amber Premium FZE received approval across a similarly broad scope, suggesting that VARA remains willing to consider multi-activity permissions where operational maturity and risk controls are clearly demonstrated.

Not all approvals were oriented toward asset-heavy or balance-sheet-driven activities. ZEPLY GLOBAL ME FZCO was authorized for advisory and broker-dealer services, highlighting VARA’s continued openness to service-provider and payments-adjacent models that limit custody and direct asset exposure.

With one exception, the firms granted IPAs during this period are already familiar names within Dubai’s virtual asset and fintech landscape, either through prior regulatory engagement, regional operations, or established business lines. The concentration of known operators suggests that VARA’s year-end push was less about expanding the regulatory perimeter and more about clearing mature applications that had already progressed through substantial parts of the review process.

Beyond the late-2025 approvals, the VARA public register itself offers an additional insight into how firms are navigating the UAE’s evolving regulatory landscape. Bybit, which received an in-principle approval from VARA on 21 August 2024, continues to appear on the register despite having since secured a VASP license from the UAE’s federal regulator, the Securities and Commodities Authority. The fact that the VARA IPA remains active suggests that the application was not withdrawn, pointing to a parallel or optional regulatory strategy rather than a clean jurisdictional switch.

Taken together, these signals point to a regulator focused on formalizing market structure rather than encouraging rapid expansion. Broker-dealer services continue to emerge as the preferred regulatory wrapper, while tokenization is increasingly being absorbed into conventional capital markets logic. At the same time, VARA has shown restraint by reserving broader permissions for firms that demonstrate readiness to operate under sustained supervision.

As the market moves deeper into 2026, the more meaningful test for approved entities will be execution. Transitioning from an in-principle approval to a fully operational license requires capital commitment, system readiness, and ongoing regulatory engagement — a stage where many applicants historically slow down or fall away.

VARA’s year-end activity therefore sets a clear expectation for the year ahead: regulatory access is available, but durability will depend on operational substance rather than announcements. Whether this momentum results in a smaller yet more resilient group of licensed virtual asset firms will become clearer as 2026 unfolds.