Triple-A, the stablecoin payments firm licensed across the EU, Singapore and more than 20 US jurisdictions, has been granted in-principle approval (IPA) for broker-dealer services by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai. The milestone places the company at the final stage of VARA’s licensing process, pending completion of operational readiness requirements and outstanding post-IPA conditions.
An IPA is not a full licence. Triple-A’s regulatory assessment remains open, and the company has entered a defined window to satisfy the remaining conditions VARA sets before a full authorisation is granted. The distinction matters: IPA holders are not yet permitted to offer broker-dealer services commercially in or from Dubai.
Why VARA matters
VARA was established as the world’s first dedicated independent regulator for virtual assets, with authority over the provision, use and exchange of virtual assets in the emirate of Dubai. Its framework is notably selective. Just over 50 entities currently hold full VARA licences, a figure that reflects the authority’s emphasis on capital adequacy, compliance infrastructure and operational controls. That selectivity has made a VARA licence a meaningful credential for firms seeking to position themselves as institutional-grade virtual asset service providers in the Gulf.
Chief executive Eric Barbier said the approval reflects months of work by Triple-A’s compliance, legal and cross-functional teams, and the company’s commitment to operating inside regulated frameworks. He framed the approval as building on existing payments infrastructure the company has developed for the market.
Regulatory read-across
Triple-A’s compliance stack is already unusually broad. The company holds a Payment Institution licence and a CASP licence in France, passported across all 30 EU and EEA member states under PSD2 and MiCA, a Major Payment Institution licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Money Transmitter Licences in more than 20 US states, and Money Services Business registration in both the US and Canada. The VARA IPA, if it converts to a full licence, would add the Gulf’s most prominent virtual asset jurisdiction to that roster.
That multi-jurisdictional compliance architecture is increasingly a competitive requirement rather than a differentiator. Enterprise customers in payments and custody increasingly demand that counterparties carry licences in every jurisdiction where transactions touch. For Triple-A, whose named clients include Razer, Farfetch and Grab, a Dubai licence addresses a gap in its Gulf coverage and strengthens its pitch to multinationals with regional treasury operations.
The broader Gulf digital assets market is attracting significant institutional attention. Abu Dhabi’s ADGM and FSRA framework and Bahrain’s CBB regime offer alternative regulatory routes, but VARA’s Dubai mandate and its relatively high licence bar have made it the prestige target for firms seeking a single Gulf anchor jurisdiction. Several large payment and custody firms are understood to be at various stages of the VARA process, making the competitive window for early movers meaningful but not indefinite.
The next milestone to watch is Triple-A’s formal licence award, which would allow it to begin offering broker-dealer services commercially from Dubai.
