Dubai Greenlights Animoca Brands With Full VASP License

Animoca Brands, the Hong Kong-based Web3 giant, has officially secured its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). By securing this license, Animoca Brands is now authorized to offer broker-dealer services and investment management to institutional and qualified investors within the Middle East.

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Inside Animoca’s Dubai VASP License and Institutional Crypto Expansion Strategy

The VARA VASP license allows Animoca to bridge the gap between its massive portfolio of over 600 companies in over 20 verticals, including AI and DeFi and the influx of traditional capital entering the digital asset space. Animoca now joins a growing list of global crypto firms establishing regulated regional bases. This reinforces Dubai’s ambition to become a leading global digital-asset hub.

The move is designed specifically for institutional crypto services, by providing a regulated framework for Web3 foundations and global funds to engage with Animoca’s ecosystem.

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According to Omar Elassar, Managing Director (Middle East), Animoca Brands, this license couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. He stated that:

“Receiving the VASP licence from VARA is an important milestone for Animoca Brands’ operations, particularly in Dubai and the Middle East. This licence enhances our ability to engage with Web3 foundations as well as global institutional and qualified investors within a well-regulated framework, and reflects our commitment to building and operating responsibly as digital asset markets continue to mature.”

The timing of this license is critical. While Dubai’s mainland and free zones remain open to innovation, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority has maintained a strict stance on security. Recent updates to Dubai crypto regulation have prohibited the use of privacy-focused tokens and mixers, ensuring that all licensed entities, including Animoca, operate under high-transparency standards.

A Regulatory Stronghold in the Middle East

For Animoca, the Dubai license is more than just a crypto regulation check-box. It serves as the infrastructure for their next phase of growth. With access to a fast-growing corridor linking Asian, European, and Middle Eastern capital markets, it opens opportunities to many industries.

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Yat Siu is confident that the main growth drivers will be tokenized real-world assets (RWA). He states that:

“Through tokenisation, absolutely everything will become an asset class. Intellectual property, royalty payments, advertising inventory—any value will receive a digital expression. Despite current market fragmentation in RWA, a consolidation period lies ahead.“

With Dubai being home to a significant number of ultra-wealthy individuals, it offers Animoca a prime investment environment.