Capital.com is preparing to expand into spot cryptocurrency trading in the United Arab Emirates after its affiliate, Capital Vault, received a virtual-asset license from the country’s Capital Market Authority (CMA).
The approval, announced on Aug. 21, 2026, allows the group to move beyond its established contracts-for-difference (CFD) business and offer UAE customers access to actual digital assets. Through the new service, clients are expected to be able to buy and hold cryptocurrencies, with Capital Vault handling execution, custody and settlement.
Capital Vault Receives Virtual-Asset Approval
According to an announcement provided to Cointelegraph, the CMA license permits Capital Vault to operate as an agent or matching principal in virtual-asset transactions and to provide custody services for clients.
The two permissions cover separate activities within the CMA’s virtual-asset regulatory framework. One allows the company to facilitate cryptocurrency transactions, while the other enables it to safeguard customers’ digital assets.
The license was granted to Capital Vault rather than Capital.com’s CFD trading operation. This structure keeps the group’s new cryptocurrency activities within a separate regulated entity and regulatory framework.
The custody authorization is particularly significant because it allows Capital Vault to hold customers’ cryptocurrencies directly rather than depending on an external custody provider.
From Crypto CFDs to Direct Ownership
Capital.com is primarily known for CFD trading, a product that allows users to speculate on the price movements of assets without owning the underlying asset.
Spot cryptocurrency trading works differently. Instead of simply gaining exposure to cryptocurrency prices through a derivative, customers purchase the underlying digital asset and can hold it in custody.
When the new service launches, UAE customers are expected to access spot crypto through the Capital.com app, while Capital Vault will provide the associated execution, custody and settlement services.
The company has not yet announced a specific launch date for the spot cryptocurrency offering.
Capital Vault Builds a Local Presence
Capital Vault operates as a separately governed entity, with its own arrangements for governance, custody and risk management. The affiliate has also established an office in Abu Dhabi and is developing a local team focused on virtual assets.
The move highlights Capital.com’s broader commitment to establishing a presence in the UAE’s regulated digital-asset market rather than simply adding cryptocurrency products to its existing CFD offering.
UAE Expands Virtual-Asset Oversight
The license comes after the CMA introduced an updated virtual-asset regulatory framework in April. The framework expanded the number of regulated virtual-asset activities from three to eight and introduced requirements covering areas such as business conduct, alternative trading systems, anti-money laundering measures and prudential standards.
As the UAE’s securities regulator, the CMA plays a central role in overseeing regulated financial and virtual-asset activities in the country.
For Capital.com, the approval represents a significant expansion of its cryptocurrency offering. The company can now build on its existing CFD business by moving into regulated spot crypto trading and custody, giving UAE customers a route to direct cryptocurrency ownership alongside traditional price-based trading products.
