- Daman Virtual co-hosted Dubai’s first Digital Assets Leadership Forum with local regulators.
- Its Daman Crypto platform targets institutions with dirham settlement and UAE banking links.
- Daman faces growing competition as Citi, HSBC and JPMorgan expand digital-asset services.
Daman Virtual, the crypto arm of Dubai brokerage Daman Securities, co-hosted the emirate’s first Digital Assets Leadership Forum with the Department of Economy and Tourism on Monday.
The event drew regulators and market operators, but no new products, partnerships, or figures were reported. What it does show is how a licensed local broker is trying to position itself as global banks move into the same territory.
Who Daman Is Betting On
Daman Virtual holds a broker-dealer licence from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and is wholly owned by Daman Investments. Its Daman Crypto platform went live in May 2026 and targets institutions, family offices, wealthy individuals, corporates and Web3 companies rather than retail traders. The pitch rests on two practical features:
- Settlement in UAE dirhams
- Connections to local banking rails
Those features address a common friction for institutions entering crypto, which is moving money between banks and trading venues. Daman has also leaned on its more than 27 years in conventional finance as a credibility argument.
What the Forum Signaled
Daman executives framed the next stage as building depth in Dubai’s capital markets and judging digital assets by results for investors rather than by novelty. Tokenised sukuk, funds and international equities were the examples discussed. The emphasis on market infrastructure and regulatory clarity suggests Dubai’s priority is shifting from granting licences to getting regulated firms to generate real trading and issuance.
Competition From Bigger Names
Daman is not alone in chasing institutional clients, and some rivals are far larger:
- Citigroup has added Japan and the UAE to Citi Token Services, now live in seven markets, with dollar and euro support in the UAE.
- HSBC brought its Tokenized Deposit Service to the UAE in June.
- JPMorgan reports more than $3 trillion processed through Kinexys.
These bank-run systems run on closed ledgers, which means they compete for corporate treasury business rather than for crypto trading flow. That distinction may leave room for brokers like Daman in digital-asset dealing, but it also caps how much tokenisation growth benefits crypto-native venues.
Market Is Still Small
Industry participants estimate more than $600 trillion of assets could eventually be tokenised, yet less than 0.01% has been. McKinsey projects over $2 trillion on-chain by 2030, about a third of one percent of that pool.
Executives at tokenisation firm Blockmaze said legal recognition and asset verification remain unresolved. Daman has not disclosed client numbers or volumes for its platform, so its traction is unknown.
Related: ECB Board Member Argues Why Central Banks Need to Be On-Chain
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