Trading platform and contracts-for-difference (CFD) broker Capital.com plans to offer spot cryptocurrency services in the United Arab Emirates after its affiliate, Capital Vault, secured a virtual-asset license from the country’s Capital Market Authority (CMA). Announced on Aug. 21, 2026, the approval moves the group beyond synthetic price exposure and into direct crypto ownership, custody, and settlement for UAE clients. The group is best known for offering leveraged CFD trading, and the move marks its entry into the spot digital-asset market.
The license
According to an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, the license authorizes Capital Vault to deal in virtual assets as an agent or matching principal and to provide custody on behalf of clients. Those represent two distinct regulated activities under the CMA’s virtual-asset regime: facilitating the trading of crypto and safekeeping client assets. The approval sits with Capital Vault, the affiliate entity, rather than the Capital.com CFD brand itself, keeping the new crypto operations under a dedicated regulatory perimeter. Custody is a notable authorization because it permits the affiliate to hold client crypto directly rather than relying on a third party.
Spot crypto versus CFDs
Once the service goes live, UAE clients will be able to buy and hold actual crypto through the Capital.com app, with Capital Vault providing execution, custody, and settlement. That is a meaningful shift from Capital.com’s core business: CFDs offer price exposure to an asset without transferring ownership of the underlying crypto. Spot trading, by contrast, means clients hold the asset directly, with their crypto held in custody by the affiliate. The announcement did not provide a specific launch date for the spot service.
A separately governed entity
Capital Vault operates as a separate regulated entity, with its governance, custody, and risk arrangements deliberately separated from Capital.com’s other businesses. The affiliate has opened an office in Abu Dhabi and is building a local virtual-asset team, steps Cointelegraph reported as signaling a longer-term commitment to the jurisdiction.
Regulatory backdrop and implications
The approval follows the CMA’s introduction of a virtual-asset regulatory framework in April, which expanded the number of regulated activities from three to eight. The framework also established requirements covering business conduct, alternative trading systems, anti-money laundering controls, and prudential standards. The CMA is the UAE’s securities regulator, and the April framework represented a significant expansion of its virtual-asset oversight. For Capital.com, the license extends a CFD franchise into regulated spot crypto custody and execution in one of the Middle East’s most active financial centers.
For additional context, readers can review a practical BlockchainReporter guide to blockchain interoperability and our guide to the Crypto Travel Rule.
