12 months. Capital.com’s UAE licensing journey took that long, from kick-off in July 2025 to a full virtual asset licence from the Capital Market Authority (CMA), the UAE’s federal regulator, in the first week of July 2026.
Rahul Kumar, Head of Digital Assets MENA at Capital.com and Council Member of MFTA’s Policy & Regulations Working Group, joins FinTech TV’s Raghda Ibraheem on Wall Street to MENA to explain what that process involves in practice.
Four UAE regulators have a role in virtual assets: the CMA at federal level, VARA in Dubai, and the financial free zones of ADGM and DIFC. A firm’s first decision is its business model. Its second is which regulator fits that model. Capital.com chose the CMA, which already regulates its CFD and equities business.
The CMA process runs in two stages. Stage one ends in in-principle approval and is based on the business model and the proposed governance structure. Stage two comes after the firm incorporates its licensed entity. For Capital.com, that meant setting up Capital Vault, opening an Abu Dhabi office and making key strategic hires. The second stage took around six months.
Kumar draws a clear line between the UAE and Europe. MiCA gives licensed firms a passport across the whole European market. A UAE licence covers the UAE only, and entering other GCC markets means applying in each jurisdiction separately.
He also explains how MFTA’s network helps firms work through four regulatory regimes at once. Its working group gives regulators industry input, including in closed-door sessions with ADGM’s FSRA. In his view, prediction markets are the next issue regulators and industry will work through together.
Topics discussed: the UAE’s four-regulator model for virtual assets, choosing a regulator, the CMA’s two-stage licensing process, building a licensed entity in Abu Dhabi, the UAE compared with MiCA, Singapore and Hong Kong, MFTA’s regulatory working group, prediction markets.
Guest: Rahul Kumar, Head of Digital Assets MENA, Capital.com; Council Member, MFTA Policy & Regulations Working Group
Interviewer: Raghda Ibraheem, FinTech TV, Wall Street to MENA
