RAK DAO
Ras Al KhaimahThe world's first free zone built only for Web3 and digital assets.
100% remote setup
Digital assets and crypto licence in the UAE
This is the activity where bad advice is most common and most expensive. The decisive question is whether you touch client assets. Building software, developing a protocol or holding your own treasury is non-regulated activity and can sit in RAK DAO or DMCC cheaply. Custody, exchange, brokerage or anything involving other people's money is regulated and requires VARA in Dubai or FSRA in ADGM — a process measured in months and hundreds of thousands of dirhams.
What to know first
- Any activity involving client assets requires VARA or FSRA authorisation. A free zone licence alone is not sufficient and operating without it is an offence.
- Banking remains the hardest part of crypto in the UAE regardless of licence.
- Rules in this sector have changed repeatedly — get written confirmation of permitted activity before paying any fee.
Let's talk about your actual case
A twenty-minute call. We will also tell you if the UAE is the wrong answer for you — it often is.