Robinhood Wins Dubai Approval as Crypto Rivals Race Ahead

Robinhood MENA Limited received a Dubai Financial Services Authority license on July 20, announced on Thursday, to serve retail investors across the Middle East, but the US trading app will not launch products there until 2027. The unit, led by Salah Kaddoura, will operate from the Dubai International Financial Centre and says the license covers all 10 DFSA-approved asset classes, including stocks, ETFs, crypto and investment tokens, meaning tokenized securities, though the public register lists arranging permissions including futures and options. Kraken won full Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority approval on Oct. 12 and Bybit added a VARA spot trading license on Thursday.