Charles d'Haussy reported that DFSA has approved Robinhood's retail platform from its new DIFC regional headquarters in the UAE, with equities, crypto and ETFs slated for a 2027 launch.

According to CoinMarketCap, Dubai’s DFSA has scrapped its token whitelist in the DIFC free zone and shifted token vetting to licensed firms under principles-based rules, source: CoinMarketCap, Jan 15, 2026. Companies now assess token suitability internally, making token approval decisions firm-specific rather than regulator-driven within DIFC, source: CoinMarketCap, Jan 15, 2026. Privacy coins such as Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC) are not explicitly banned but will face tougher internal scrutiny by DIFC-licensed entities, which directly affects their support on compliant trading venues, source: CoinMarketCap, Jan 15, 2026.