Daman Launches Regulated Crypto Platform for Institutional Clients in the UAE

Mohammed Fathy

Last updated 20-05-2026

4 min

Daman Securities has launched Daman Crypto for institutions entering virtual assets.

The VARA-regulated platform combines trading, settlement and compliance ‘under one roof’.

It offers spot trading, stablecoins and rapid AED settlements via UAE banking rails.

Client assets are segregated, 1:1 backed, with audited reserves and strict risk controls.

As crypto goes mainstream, competition rises in the UAE’s growing digital asset hub.

Daman Virtual Asset Brokerage, the institutional digital assets arm of Daman Securities, has officially rolled out Daman Crypto, a new trading platform aimed squarely at institutions stepping into virtual assets. The launch lands at a time when the UAE is seeing serious crypto momentum, with Chainalysis estimating more than $56 billion in crypto value flowing through the country between 2024 and 2025. Not small change.

Daman Crypto operates under the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) framework, positioning itself as a fully regulated, institutional-grade venue. It brings trading, settlement and compliance together under one roof, which, if you’ve ever tried to cobble these pieces separately, can be a bit of a faff. The platform is designed for institutional clients, high-net-worth individuals, family offices, corporates and Web3 firms, both in the UAE and internationally, excluding sanctioned jurisdictions.

The offering includes spot trading across major crypto pairs and stablecoins, as well as fiat on- and off-ramps. Notably, it connects directly to UAE banking rails, allowing for rapid AED and multi-currency settlements. In practical terms, that means fewer hoops to jump through and faster execution, and in volatile markets, speed is not a luxury, it’s everything.

Shehab Gargash, Founder and Chairman of Daman Securities, said the UAE has created the right foundation for institutional digital asset participation, adding that Daman Crypto combines the group’s financial services heritage with infrastructure built for the next era of finance. Ahmed Waheed, Chief Executive Officer of Daman Securities, described the move as a strategic evolution, pointing out that institutional clients have been asking for a regulated and trustworthy route into digital assets. According to him, the new platform extends the same operational discipline the brokerage has maintained for more than 27 years.

At the centre of the pitch is a best execution model, where the platform commits to offering the most favourable terms on transactions, supported by deep liquidity for large-volume trades. Client assets are held in segregated accounts with 1:1 backing and audited proof of reserves, alongside transaction monitoring and strict risk controls in line with VARA requirements. In a sector where trust can disappear overnight, governance suddenly becomes very fashionable.

Ahmed Ismail, Co-Founder of Daman Virtual, said the platform had been built in response to clear market demand from institutional players seeking execution quality and regulatory clarity. He noted that years were spent developing the infrastructure and regulatory framework before bringing the product to market, adding that the ambition is to demonstrate digital investment banking and crypto can sit comfortably in the same sentence.

Onboarding, the company says, has been structured to move eligible clients from registration to first trade as smoothly as possible. A dedicated relationship management team operates around the clock across time zones, which, for global institutions, is almost expected these days.

For those who’ve followed the UAE’s steady march towards becoming a virtual assets hub, this feels like a logical next step. Dubai’s VARA regime has definitely given institutions more confidence compared to the regulatory grey zones we saw in earlier crypto cycles. I’ve seen firsthand, through conversations within the startup ecosystem Arageek covers, how founders and investors alike have been waiting for clearer frameworks before committing serious capital. Regulation may sound dull, but in this space it’s spot on.

That said, competition in the region is heating up. Several global players are also eyeing the GCC as their next battleground. Whether Daman Crypto can carve out a dominant niche will depend on liquidity depth, client trust and consistent compliance, not a small task, but arguably the right one to focus on.

Still, the fact that a 27-year-old brokerage group is stepping firmly into digital assets says something about where the market is heading. Crypto in the UAE is no longer a fringe conversation. It’s edging towards the financial mainstram. And platforms like Daman Crypto are betting that institutional capital is just getting started.

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