Caladan Receives In-Principle Approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority
Caladan, a digital asset market maker based in Asia, has received In-Principle Approval (IPA) for Broker-Dealer Services to institutional clients under Dubai’s virtual asset regulatory framework. The approval was granted by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) on September 15, 2026, and is part of Caladan's strategy to establish regulated operations in key financial centers where its clients operate. Caladan provides aggregated liquidity across over 40 exchanges with an annual trading volume exceeding $170 billion. The company plans to offer these services through CLDN Broker Dealer FZE once a full license from VARA is obtained, though it will not serve retail clients at this stage. Julia Zhou, President and Co-Founder of Caladan, emphasized the importance of Dubai’s regulatory clarity in facilitating institutional trading partnerships. The IPA does not constitute a final license but signals progress toward regulated operations for Caladan in the UAE market.
Topics: broker-dealer services digital assets Dubai regulation VARA approval