Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates — U.S. brokerage infrastructure provider Alpaca has moved through the first regulatory stage toward operating in Abu Dhabi, after the regulator of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), granted its local entity in-principle approval.
The decision covers Alpaca Clearing & Custody ME Ltd, which the company calls Alpaca Middle East, and relates to its application for a Financial Services Permission. In its announcement, Alpaca described the approval as a key step toward a regulated presence in the UAE and toward wider support for the financial institutions and fintechs it serves in the region.
The approval is not yet a license to operate. Alpaca stated that it is not a Financial Services Permission and does not authorize the entity to conduct regulated activities in or from ADGM. Any service can start only after the conditions imposed by the FSRA are satisfied and the permission itself is granted.
ADGM’s approval process sets out the steps between in-principle approval and final authorisation. Applicants must meet specified conditions, which may include obtaining a commercial licence from ADGM’s Registration Authority, securing office space within ADGM, opening local bank accounts and paying the required capital into the entity. Once the relevant conditions are satisfied, the FSRA can grant permission to begin regulated activities.
If the permission comes through, Alpaca Middle East intends to provide brokerage services and custody for virtual assets, within whatever scope the FSRA ultimately approves. The company said the move would bring its API-based brokerage infrastructure nearer to its Middle East partners, while noting that every service it described remains a proposal subject to the conditions of the final permission.
Hatem ElAraby, CEO of Alpaca Middle East, said: “The UAE has emerged as an important hub connecting regional and global capital markets, with a strong ecosystem for financial services and technology. Establishing a regulated presence in Abu Dhabi will allow us to work more closely with institutions in the region and connect them with Alpaca’s global brokerage infrastructure. This is an important step in building our long-term presence in the Middle East.”
The company's release describes it as an agent-first brokerage and clearing infrastructure giving access to traditional and on-chain asset classes, with more than 15 million brokerage accounts running on its platform for hundreds of fintechs and institutions, which are spread over more than 50 countries. It has raised $400 million in funding.
The company already counts financial institutions and fintech platforms in the Middle East among its clients, it said, in areas ranging from digital investing to savings and brokerage. Alpaca said those ties, combined with its team in the region and its global infrastructure, give it a strong base for further investment and long-term growth there.
Abu Dhabi is the latest stop in a wider licensing push. Alpaca called the UAE the next chapter in its plan to build regulated brokerage infrastructure in markets around the world, adding to a regulatory footprint that already spans the U.S., the U.K., Europe, Japan, India and The Bahamas.
In July 2026, the company completed passporting of its investment services to 29 countries in the European Economic Area through a Spain-based hub registered with the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), a step that followed its acquisition of WealthKernel. Alpaca said that, together with its regulated U.K. entity, the European setup reaches a market of nearly 500 million people.
India came earlier in the year. In January 2026, Alpaca announced plans to acquire Zincmoney IFSC Private Limited, a GIFT City broker-dealer overseen by India's International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), in a deal that needed sign-off from that regulator.
Alpaca joins a steady flow of applicants at ADGM. Between January and March 2026, the regulator handed out 22 in-principle approvals alongside 29 full permissions, and the count of financial services firms in the center climbed 30% from a year earlier to 365.
U.S. brokerages are also arriving elsewhere in the UAE. Robinhood picked Dubai for its Middle East debut after Robinhood MENA Limited received a Dubai Financial Services Authority license on July 20, 2026, with its retail platform due in the region in 2027. Because Alpaca supplies brokerage and custody infrastructure to institutions and fintechs, a full ADGM permission could give regional platforms a locally regulated route to its services.
