XBASE Virtual Assets Broker & Dealer Services LLC, which operates under the Relm brand, has secured a full Virtual Asset Service Provider license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, marking a significant regulatory milestone for the company in the United Arab Emirates. The approval allows the firm to function as a regulated virtual asset broker-dealer from Dubai and to begin serving eligible professional clients through a licensed framework. As a subsidiary of XBD Group, Relm’s authorization adds another participant to Dubai’s fast-developing market for regulated digital asset services.
Regulatory Approval
The license follows Relm’s completion of VARA’s formal approval process, including the earlier in-principle stage that precedes full operational authorization in Dubai’s digital asset regime. By obtaining the final clearance, the company has demonstrated that it satisfied the regulator’s standards across governance, operational readiness, risk management, and compliance controls. That progression is important because VARA’s structure has been designed to distinguish fully supervised market participants from firms still operating at earlier licensing stages.
Under the new authorization, Relm is permitted to provide broker-dealer and over-the-counter digital asset services to institutional clients, enterprises, and qualified counterparties operating in and through the UAE. The company said the licensed offering will focus on compliant trade execution and access to crypto-native liquidity for professional market participants rather than retail-focused activity. This positions Relm within a segment of the market where regulatory oversight, transaction security, and counterparty standards are increasingly central to client decision-making.
Services and Client Focus
Relm’s target client base includes institutions, corporations, investment funds, and family offices seeking regulated access to digital asset markets from a recognized financial hub. The company is framing its business around enterprise-grade execution, a model intended to serve larger and more sophisticated participants that require structured trading arrangements and clear legal oversight. In practice, that means the firm is seeking to compete not only on access to liquidity, but also on the assurance that comes with operating under an established supervisory regime.
Executives at the company described the license as validation of a compliance-led strategy and pointed to the UAE’s regulatory approach as a factor helping institutions engage more confidently with digital assets. Relm’s UAE chief executive, Zeeshan Uppal, said the approval reflects Dubai’s ability to combine innovation with regulatory discipline while reducing uncertainty for professional market participants. His comments underscore a broader industry view that institutional adoption depends less on market enthusiasm alone and more on transparent rules, licensing discipline, and credible operating standards.
Dubai’s Digital Asset Ecosystem
The development also reinforces Dubai’s ambition to position itself as a leading international base for virtual asset activity, cross-border digital commerce, and financial innovation. VARA has sought to build that reputation by creating a dedicated framework for licensing and supervising virtual asset service providers, rather than relying on fragmented oversight or limited pilot arrangements. For firms like Relm, securing a full license provides a route to regulated market entry while aligning them with Dubai’s wider push to attract financial technology and digital infrastructure investment.
Relm’s parent, XBD Group, describes itself as a global digital asset infrastructure provider focused on compliant solutions for trading, payments, and liquidity across multiple jurisdictions. The UAE authorization gives that broader group a regulated operating foothold in one of the region’s most closely watched digital asset markets, which may support future institutional expansion. It also signals that Dubai continues to draw companies looking for a jurisdiction where formal supervision and commercial opportunity can develop in parallel.
Relm’s full VARA license is notable not simply because it enables one company to begin regulated operations, but because it reflects the continued maturation of Dubai’s virtual asset market. The approval adds to evidence that the emirate is advancing a model built around licensed participation, institutional-grade services, and compliance-led growth in the digital asset sector. As more firms pursue similar authorizations, the competitive focus is likely to shift toward which operators can pair regulatory credibility with reliable execution and long-term relevance in a rapidly evolving market.