The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has authorised Robinhood to bring its retail investing platform to the Middle East from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the financial centre said on Thursday. The DFSA is the DIFC’s own regulator, separate from the authorities that oversee the rest of the emirate.
The approval lets Robinhood offer trading and custody in every one of the regulator’s 10 approved asset classes, among them stocks, crypto, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and investment tokens, according to Robinhood’s announcement. In DFSA terms, an investment token is one that confers rights like those of a security, as with what tokenized stocks are. Its product suite is due to go live in 2027.
“The demand for modern, accessible financial tools across this region is immense.”
Salah Kaddoura, senior executive officer and president, Robinhood MENA
Kaddoura will lead the regional business and its growing local team from the DIFC, the companies said. Johann Kerbrat, who runs Robinhood’s crypto and international arms, described the region in the release as home to “a rapidly growing wave of retail investors.” Robinhood MENA Limited now appears as an authorised firm on the DFSA’s public register, Fintech News UAE reported; it said Robinhood first disclosed its licence application in August 2025.
Compared with what?
Dubai has two crypto rulebooks. Inside the DIFC free zone, the DFSA licenses firms; in the rest of the emirate, crypto businesses answer to the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Last week Standard Chartered took the second route, launching Standard Chartered’s VARA-approved crypto trading for UAE clients, which opened first to professional investors.
Robinhood’s pitch is broader: one account for shares, funds and crypto, held in custody by the broker. The National also reported the 10-asset-class scope and the 2027 timetable.
Risks: none of the announcements gives fees, minimum amounts, the countries Robinhood will serve or whether ordinary retail clients, not only professional investors, can open accounts. A licence covers how a firm is supervised, not the price swings of what clients buy, and custody means trusting the broker with the assets; what a crypto custodian does sets out the trade-off.
What to watch: the client terms, the first markets Robinhood names in the region, and a date in 2027.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice.