Virtual Assets Comming soon..
Includes firms engaged in conducting an exchange, trade or
conversion between one or more Virtual Assets and currency; and matching orders between buyers and sellers, maintaining an order book in furtherance.
DMCC/VARA Standards
“Includes firms engaged in conducting an exchange, trade, or conversion between one or more Virtual Assets and currency; and matching orders between buyers and sellers, maintaining an order book in furtherance.”
Virtual Assets Exchange Services
This activity includes companies that operate platforms or systems to enable the buying, selling, and exchanging of virtual assets (cryptocurrencies or tokens), either between different virtual assets or between virtual assets and fiat currencies.
Exchange Between Virtual Asset & Fiat:
Allow users to buy or sell crypto using AED, USD, EUR, etc.
Order Book Maintenance:
Maintain a system for matching buy/sell orders in real time
Facilitate spot trading, market orders, and limit orders
Exchange Between Virtual Assets:
Trading crypto-to-crypto pairs (e.g., BTC/ETH, USDT/DAI)
May involve holding or managing custodial or non-custodial wallets.
Some exchanges offer staking, yield farming, or derivatives.
User Wallets & Custody:
Key Functions
Revenue Model
Listing Fees:
Charged to new projects or tokens for listing.
Withdrawal Fees:
For transferring assets out of the exchange.
Transaction Fees:
Charged per trade (maker/taker fees).
Spread Earnings:
Profit from the difference between buy and sell prices.
Advanced trading tools, analytics, or OTC services
Premium Services:
Regulatory Requirements (UAE/DMCC/VARA)
Examples of Platforms Under This Category:
Centralized Exchanges:
Must obtain:
DMCC License under Activity Code 6599-86
Third-Party NOC from Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA)
Must maintain a physical office (no virtual-only setups)
Must implement strong AML/KYC policies
Regular reporting, compliance, and audits required
Need data protection, risk controls, and anti-fraud systems
Binance, Coinbase, Kraken (fully custodial)
Decentralized Exchanges (if offered under a managed entity)
OTC Desks and P2P Platforms (licensed setups only)
Use Cases:
Retail and institutional crypto trading
Cross-border crypto remittance or payments Gateway between fiat and crypto Launchpad for crypto/token projects
Risks and Considerations:
Compliance with international FATF standards.
Cybersecurity for platform and user wallets.
Liquidity management and token vetting
