Revolut receives in-principle approval to offer crypto services in the UAE

• Revolut secured in-principle approval for its Virtual Assets Service Provider licence from VARA in the UAE
• The company obtained two additional licences from the Central Bank of UAE in June for payments services
• Revolut is removing USDT support from European accounts due to EU MiCA stablecoin compliance rules

• 50 Total VASP licences issued by VARA as of last month
• 16M Crypto customers Revolut serves across UK and European Economic Area
• March 2022 When Dubai established VARA under its Virtual Asset Regulation Law

Revolut announced Wednesday that it has cleared the in-principle stage of obtaining a Virtual Assets Service Provider licence from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, positioning the fintech to launch regulated cryptocurrency trading in the UAE. The approval represents a critical intermediate step toward full regulatory clearance, after which UAE customers will be able to buy, sell, and hold digital assets through both Revolut’s main application and Revolut X, the company’s standalone exchange platform.

This expansion extends Revolut’s crypto footprint into the Middle East and North Africa region, a jurisdiction where the company has already established substantial payment infrastructure.

Revolut Clears Second Major Regulatory Hurdle in UAE Within Two Months

The in-principle crypto approval follows Revolut’s June licensing from the Central Bank of the UAE, which granted the fintech a stored value facilities licence and a category-2 retail payment services licence.

These earlier authorisations allow Revolut to hold customer fiat, digital tokens, and rewards points, as well as to process cross-border transfers and manage merchant relationships within the UAE. The company has framed both the payment and crypto licences as components of a unified, locally regulated financial platform rather than separate product offerings.

Joseph Khair, head of Revolut Digital Assets FZE in the UAE, connected the approval to the emirate’s stated regulatory objectives.

Khair stated that the in-principle approval “lays the foundation for Revolut to introduce its trusted virtual asset services within a regulated environment,” while positioning the decision as consistent with VARA’s mandate to establish a “safe, transparent and innovation-driven” virtual assets ecosystem.

The timing reflects broader regional competition among Gulf jurisdictions to attract fintech operators and establish themselves as credible crypto hubs.

VARA’s 50 Issued Licences Show Accelerating Institutional Adoption in Dubai

VARA, established in March 2022 under Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulation Law, has emerged as one of the region’s most active crypto regulators.

The authority reported last month that it had issued its 50th Virtual Asset Service Provider licence, with recent recipients including gaming and NFT company Animoca Brands and prime brokerage firm LTP. This licensing volume demonstrates material institutional interest in operating under VARA’s framework, even as regulators globally remain fragmented on crypto standards.

The regulator’s approval process screens applicants across governance, ownership, financial resilience, technology, cybersecurity, risk management, and anti-money-laundering controls, with ongoing supervision of licensed firms after issuance.

For institutional crypto investors and service providers, VARA’s structured licensing represents one of the few jurisdictions globally that combines rapid approval timelines with substantive regulatory oversight rather than nominal registration.

The addition of a major fintech like Revolut, which already serves 16 million crypto customers across the UK and European Economic Area, signals that VARA’s framework is attracting players with existing operational scale.

EU Stablecoin Rules Force Revolut to Delist Tether Across Europe

Revolut’s UAE expansion occurs as the company navigates tighter stablecoin regulation in Europe. Under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, Revolut is removing Tether (USDT) from customer accounts in certain European jurisdictions where MiCA applies.

The company will cease accepting new USDT deposits immediately and will eventually remove the stablecoin entirely for eligible customers in affected regions, though users retain the ability to sell or transfer holdings before access is cut off.

Tether has not secured authorization under MiCA, the EU’s comprehensive digital asset rulebook that establishes stablecoin issuance and service provider standards across the bloc.

This restriction reflects the EU’s move toward mandatory stablecoin licensing and represents a material reduction in crypto trading options for Revolut’s European user base, the company’s largest market by customer count.

The divergence between Revolut’s expansion into the less-prescriptive UAE regulatory environment and its contraction in Europe illustrates the operational complexity facing multinational crypto service providers as jurisdictions adopt incompatible compliance frameworks.

Revolut’s next step is securing final approval from VARA to transition from in-principle status to full licensure, at which point the company can activate live cryptocurrency trading for UAE customers.

The timeline for that final sign-off remains unstated, and institutional investors tracking Revolut’s geographic footprint should monitor both the completion of UAE licensing and the company’s previously announced plans to enter the US market, where crypto regulation remains fragmented across state and federal authorities.

EU Stablecoin Delisting Underscores Regulatory Divergence Between Markets

While Revolut expands crypto services in the UAE, the fintech is simultaneously scaling back digital asset offerings in Europe, where the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework has imposed stricter requirements on stablecoin issuers and custodians.

Revolut confirmed this week that it will delist Tether (USDT) from accounts held by customers in the European Economic Area, citing compliance obligations under the EU’s new ruleset that took effect in December 2023. The delisting affects a material portion of Revolut’s 16 million crypto customers, the majority of whom are concentrated in UK and European markets.

The contradiction illustrates a fundamental tension in global crypto regulation: jurisdictions competing for institutional adoption are loosening guardrails while mature markets are tightening them.

MiCA requires stablecoin issuers to maintain full reserve backing and obtain explicit authorization from the European Securities and Markets Authority, thresholds that Tether has not formally met in the EU. By contrast, VARA’s Virtual Assets Regulation Law, established in March 2022, has taken a lighter-touch approach designed to attract digital asset firms, 50 VASP licences have been issued to date, compared to a handful of authorized stablecoin issuers across the entire EU bloc.

Revolut has not disclosed whether USDT delisting will reduce overall trading volumes on its European platform or whether customers will migrate to alternative stablecoins that do meet MiCA requirements, such as EUROC or USD Coin (USDC). The company’s ability to retain European crypto revenue while complying with MiCA will be tested when the delisting takes effect; MiCA enforcement deadlines for existing issuers fall throughout 2024 and into 2025.

Original reporting: cryptopolitan.com