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CFIX, the Dubai virtual assets unit of CFI Financial Group, has received in-principle approval (IPA) from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) for broker-dealer services. CFIX cannot offer virtual asset services until VARA grants a full licence, and CFI says it will work on VARA’s conditions over the coming months.
VARA’s public register lists the approval under the name CFIX VA Broker and Dealer Services LLC S.O.C, reference IPA/26/09/007, for broker-dealer services, with an issue date of 29 September. CFI announced it on 9 November, about six weeks after the register date.
What does the VARA In-Principle Approval allow
An IPA is a stage in VARA’s licensing process and comes before the grant of a full virtual asset service provider (VASP) licence. VARA’s register says applicants holding an IPA are prohibited from starting operations, carrying out virtual asset activities or serving clients until they hold the full licence.
CFI says CFIX will not commence virtual asset services unless and until its full VASP licence is granted.
CFIX will now work to meet VARA’s conditions, which the release lists as finalising leadership appointments, operational infrastructure, governance arrangements and regulatory controls. CFI has not given a date for the full licence.
Who is behind CFIX
CFI Financial Group says it was established in 1998 and that CFIX will draw on its experience across 15 regulated entities and more than 25 years in financial markets. Finance Magnates reports that CFI recently received a securities brokerage authorisation in Brazil, and the release says it has launched in Colombia after entering Bahrain. The group says it is appointing independent board members and an independent chairman. Finance Magnates reports Federico Cirulli became chairman in September.
Ziad Melhem, CEO of CFI Financial Group, said in the release:
“The virtual asset industry has spent the past decade proving its technology. The next decade will be about proving its standards. The UAE is where much of that future is being shaped, and Dubai’s regulatory environment provides a strong foundation for the industry’s next phase. For CFI, CFIX is a natural extension of the financial ecosystem we are building, bringing our experience in regulated markets into a new and evolving sector.”
The broker-dealer services are covering the arranging and executing of trades in virtual assets, and reports that CFI’s existing business offers crypto through contracts for difference. CFI reported $3.45 trillion in notional trading volume in the third quarter across its existing business, according to Finance Magnates. That figure isn’t CFIX’s.
FAQs
What is CFIX?
The Dubai virtual assets unit of CFI Financial Group, set up as a separate legal entity with its own governance, according to CFI.
What is an in-principle approval from VARA?
A stage in VARA’s licensing process that comes before a full VASP licence. The holder can’t start operating until the full licence is granted.
Can CFIX offer crypto trading in the UAE now?
No. VARA’s register says in-principle approval holders may not carry out virtual asset activities or serve clients, and CFI says CFIX will not start until it holds a full licence.
When will CFIX get a full licence?
CFI hasn’t said. It says it will work on VARA’s conditions over the coming months.
Editor’s Take: The conditions VARA attached are the ones to watch, particularly the leadership appointments, because they are the first public sign of who will run CFIX. The register date of 29 September sits six weeks before the announcement, so the approval has been in place longer than the news suggests. For comparison, Finance Magnates reports Bybit received its in-principle approval in 2024, and VARA’s register now shows its full licence issued on 20 October 2026. The time between the two stages varies, so the announcement says little about when CFIX will start.