Another crypto company eyes expansion to innovation-friendly UAE

Denmark-based Northstake looks to use Dubai as “a strategic base” to survey expansion options

article-image

Rasto SK/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

A crypto staking specialist is looking to expand to the United Arab Emirates, marking the latest segment player looking to set up shop there.

Northstake has gained initial approval from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) — a first step toward getting a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license, the company told Blockworks.

Such a license will allow the Denmark-based company to offer crypto custody services, like custodial staking, to institutional investors in the emirates. It ultimately seeks to use the UAE as “a strategic base” to survey expansion options. 

Northstake CEO Jesper Johansen said the UAE is “becoming a global frontrunner in virtual assets.” Interest in Dubai among crypto firms picked up after the emirate established VARA in March 2022 — a regime industry executives have said fosters innovation in the segment.  

Read more: Dubai is the latest government to roll out crypto law, set up regulator

“Our ambition is to contribute to the growth of the crypto ecosystem in the UAE, leveraging our expertise and innovative solutions in digital asset investments to support the region’s financial institutions and our local partners on innovative digital asset products,” Johansen told Blockworks. 

Institutional investments — ones that exceed $1 million in value — made up about two-thirds of crypto transactions in the UAE between July 2022 and June 2023, according to a September Chainalysis report.

“This market confidence is validation of the efforts being made by the country’s leadership to offer commendable regulatory clarity and establish the nation as a global crypto hub,” Chainalysis’ research director Kim Grauer said in a statement at the time.

Northstake is just the latest crypto company moving into the region. 

Crypto custodian Komainu was among the first to receive a full VASP license in August — though many have sought to offer services there

Laser Digital, the crypto unit of Japanese bank Nomura, garnered a full crypto license from Dubai’s VARA that same month. M2 Exchange also gained the ability to offer custody and multilateral trading services for UAE residents around that time.

The move comes nearly a year after Northstake raised about $3 million to bolster its staking products for institutions. The company, with its multi-chain platform comprising yield-generating products, partnered with Coinify in August to serve the firm’s institutional and high net worth clients.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (19).png

Research

Suilend has grown into the top money market and liquid staking provider on Sui. STEAMM, Suilend’s Superfluid AMM, presents a compelling avenue for growing market share within Sui’s DEX landscape and revenue generation for the protocol. Suilend’s multi-product suite position it well for owning market share across key verticals. While current metrics across the Sui ecosystem are likely inflated due to Sui Foundation incentive programs, SEND trades at amongst the lowest multiples in the lend/borrow sector, suggesting that a bull case for continued growth in the ecosystem may be mispriced.

article-image

Strive board member Ben Werkman expects thousands of firms to hold BTC, if only “to protect themselves”

article-image

To date, 12.6 million humans have scanned at a World Orb

article-image

One small step for man, one giant leap for Bitcoin

article-image

Jay Woods, Chief Global Strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, said it would be “very rare” for an acquisition to happen since the IPO may occur as soon as next week

article-image

Sponsored

Money is one of the most consequential pieces of infrastructure, and M0 believes its architecture should serve builders, not extract from them

article-image

The financial backwaters they laughed at might be the only thing keeping the dollar afloat