Animoca Brands Secures Full VARA License in Dubai - Web3 Giant Gets Green Light for Virtual Asset Operations

Dubai just handed Animoca Brands the keys to the kingdom—or at least, its virtual asset kingdom. The Web3 and gaming behemoth just secured a full Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Dubai's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). This isn't a provisional nod or a testing-phase approval. It's the full regulatory stamp, clearing Animoca to operate across the emirate's rapidly maturing digital asset landscape.

Why This License is a Game-Changer

Forget sandbox experiments. This license is the main event. It allows Animoca Brands to legally provide a suite of virtual asset services to institutional and qualified retail investors. We're talking brokerage-dealer activities, virtual asset management and investment services, and lending-borrowing operations. In short, it transforms Animoca from a guest in Dubai's digital economy to a licensed, permanent resident with a seat at the big table.

The Regulatory Arms Race Heats Up

Dubai's VARA has been on a tear, methodically building one of the world's most comprehensive virtual asset frameworks. Animoca's approval signals that the regulator is confident enough to hand its rulebook to one of the industry's largest and most active players. It's a massive vote of confidence in Animoca's compliance infrastructure—and a clear signal to other global hubs that Dubai is open for serious crypto business, not just hype. Watch for a scramble of other majors now fast-tracking their own applications.

Beyond Permission: A Strategic Beachhead

This is more than paperwork. For Animoca, it's a strategic beachhead in a critical financial corridor. The license provides a regulated on-ramp for its sprawling portfolio of over 400 Web3 investments and its own ecosystem tokens. It enables the company to weave its gaming, metaverse, and digital property ventures directly into the fabric of a forward-looking financial center. Expect smoother fiat integrations, clearer custody solutions, and a more legitimate pathway for mainstream capital—the kind that still gets nervous about unlicensed offshore operations.

The move cuts through the regulatory fog that has stalled so many crypto ventures. It bypasses the endless 'wait-and-see' that plagues other jurisdictions. For traditional finance skeptics who still think regulatory approval in crypto is an oxymoron, Dubai and Animoca just provided a rather expensive, meticulously documented counter-argument. Sometimes, the bullish case isn't written in a whitepaper—it's printed on a government-issued license. Just don't expect the usual finance bros to read past the headline before calling it a scam.

Animoca Brands sets up aggressive MENA expansion 

Today, the license from VARA comes almost a year after Animoca Brands opened an office in Dubai, claiming it was aimed at meeting the growing demands of Web3 organizations in the MENA region.

The company has three integrated business pillars: Web3 businesses to advance blockchain adoption, digital asset advisory services, and investment management, with a portfolio of investments in over 600 companies and altcoin assets.

In 2024, Animoca Brand led a strategic funding round for UAE-based Param Labs, an independent Web3 Blockchain gaming and technology studio, for $7 million. Other investors included Delphi Ventures, Mechanism Capital, P2 Ventures, Merit Circle, TRGC, MH Ventures, and UAE-based Cypher Capital.

Animoca Brands had many other investments in the UAE and KSA.

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