Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority has issued its 50th license, granting approval to tokenization platform Tribe Tokenisation FZE.
This milestone positions Dubai ahead of other major financial hubs. Singapore's regulator has licensed 37 firms for digital payment token services, while Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission lists 13 formally licensed virtual asset trading platforms.
The regulator noted that holding a license does not guarantee a firm is fully operational. Of the 39 firms licensed by the end of 2025, only a subset had completed their commercial launch.
Officials attribute the growth to Dubai's activity-based regulatory framework and its broader financial ecosystem, which considers metrics beyond just the number of licenses.