Robinhood Markets indicates that the company has been authorized by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to provide trading and custody services to retail customers across 10 categories of assets, including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, stocks, ETF, as well as investment tokens.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the company stated that it plans to launch the platform in the region in 2027, with the location set at a new hub within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). DIFC is a special economic zone that will serve as the company's headquarters for the Middle East and North Africa.
Salah Kaddoura has been appointed as the Senior Executive Officer and President of Robinhood MENA. The company stated that this title is a position recognized by DFSA, which means he will become the point of contact for regulatory authorities. He will be responsible for assembling a team in Dubai before the launch.
The Chairman and CEO, Vlad Tenev, stated in the company's statement: "Hong Kong is one of the most important financial centers in the world. By expanding here, we are one step closer to creating a global platform that allows anyone, anywhere, to access the highest quality financial assets."
Robinhood Expansion over the Years
Dubai's expansion continues the growth momentum of Robinhood outside of the United States. The app initially gained fame for young investors trading individual stocks.
Robinhood entered the UK in 2024, fully launched its business within the EU last year, obtained principle-based approval to provide brokerage services in Singapore in April, and completed the acquisition of the Canadian crypto platform WonderFi in June.
In the United States, the company added weekend trading and perpetual futures in September. The company stated that it has more than 1 million customers outside of the United States.
The Johann Kerbrat in charge of Robinhood encryption and international business described this expansion into Dubai as responding to the needs of a new wave of retail investors in the region. He is also the executive who disclosed on October 7th that Robinhood had included $25 million worth of Bitcoin in its own balance sheet; this is the first time the company has held BTC as corporate assets, rather than holding it on behalf of clients.
DFSA has been approved to hold customers' digital assets, not just to facilitate transactions. For a company that took several years in the United States to allow Bitcoin withdrawals, being permitted to provide custody services from the very beginning in a new jurisdiction indicates that its cryptocurrency business has matured considerably.
Robinhood is entering a continuously growing financial center, despite the region facing war with Iran and broader tensions. DIFC has already surpassed 10,000 active registered companies this year and continues to attract renowned global institutions, including Ken Griffin and Citadel.
According to Bloomberg, DIFC launched a new tower complex in March, adding 600,000 square feet of commercial space, with tenants including Deutsche Bank and Moody's. This week, the private equity firm Maven announced that it will close its New York office and shift its focus to Dubai.
Competition will also not be scarce. As of March 31, there were 72 authorized brokers on the DIFC list, and several other crypto-native exchanges hold licenses issued by the Dubai Independent Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
Robinhood It has not yet been specified which countries will be covered when it goes live, how the pricing will be structured, or how 'qualified investors' will be defined; and the latter point will determine the scale of the market that can be served.
