Capital.com plans UAE spot crypto services after affiliate wins licence

Trading platform and contracts for difference (CFD) broker Capital.com plans to offer spot crypto services to clients in the United Arab Emirates after its affiliate, Capital Vault, secured a virtual-asset license from the country’s Capital Market Authority (CMA). 

According to an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, the license allows Capital Vault to deal in virtual assets as an agent or matching principal and provide custody on behalf of clients.  

Once the service goes live, UAE clients will be able to buy and hold actual crypto through the Capital.com app, with Capital Vault providing execution, custody and settlement. This differs from Capital.com’s CFDs, which provide price exposure without ownership of the underlying crypto. 

Capital Vault operates as a separate regulated entity, with its governance, custody and risk arrangements separated from Capital.com’s other businesses. The affiliate has opened an office in Abu Dhabi and is building a local virtual-asset team. 

The approval follows the CMA’s introduction of a virtual-asset regulatory framework in April, which expanded the number of regulated activities from three to eight. The framework also established requirements covering business conduct, alternative trading systems, anti-money laundering controls and prudential standards.

Related: Bitcoin.com integrates UAE-registered US dollar stablecoin into self-custodial wallet