The approval, issued September 15, 2026, allows the firm to move toward full licensing for institutional-grade trading services. While this initial authorization represents a significant regulatory step, the firm remains restricted from providing services in or from the Emirate until it secures a full license from the authority. If granted, the firm will focus exclusively on institutional participants rather than retail investors.
In section Releases
Caladan Secures VARA Approval for Dubai Broker-Dealer Operations
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority has granted in-principle approval to Caladan’s local entity, CLDN Broker Dealer FZE, to provide brokerage services to institutional clients. The milestone marks a shift for the Asian market maker as it expands its regulated footprint into the Middle East’s digital asset hub.
President and Co-Founder Julia Zhou highlighted the clarity of the local framework as a primary driver for the expansion. The group, which maintains a $170 billion annual trading volume, plans to leverage this status to meet rising demand for aggregated liquidity. By integrating into the Dubai ecosystem, Caladan aims to provide a regulated counterparty for capital-intensive digital asset strategies, utilizing its existing API infrastructure that supports sub-10ms latency across 40 global exchanges.
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