Alpaca, the US brokerage and clearing infrastructure provider, said on 26 October 2026 that its entity Alpaca Clearing & Custody ME Ltd has received in-principle approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s international financial centre, for a Financial Services Permission. Fintechbits notes that the Alpaca ADGM approval is the company’s second in-principle approval in a month, after Singapore’s MAS on 28 September 2026, and that neither one is a licence: the release’s own disclaimer says the approval does not authorise Alpaca Middle East to conduct regulated activities in or from ADGM. If the permission is granted, Alpaca plans to offer brokerage services and virtual asset custody, according to its release on BusinessWire.

What the Alpaca ADGM Approval Covers

An in-principle approval from the FSRA is a conditional green light. It tells Alpaca that the regulator is prepared to grant a Financial Services Permission once conditions are met, and the release lists none of those conditions. Alpaca Middle East plans brokerage services and custody for virtual assets “within the scope ultimately approved by the FSRA”, which leaves the exact product list open.

Hatem ElAraby, chief executive of Alpaca Middle East, said in the release that the UAE has become “an important hub connecting regional and global capital markets”. Alpaca says it already works with financial institutions and fintechs across the Middle East in digital investing, savings and brokerage, but it names none of them.

Alpaca describes itself as an “agent-first” brokerage and clearing platform. It says it supports more than 15 million brokerage accounts across hundreds of fintechs and institutions in more than 50 countries, and that it is backed by $400 million in funding.

Alpaca’s Licence Map After Singapore and Abu Dhabi

The useful comparison is with Alpaca’s own recent filings. On 28 September 2026, Alpaca announced a MAS in-principle approval for a Capital Markets Services licence for Alpaca Singapore. Four weeks later, it has a second IPA in a second financial centre. The ADGM release lists Alpaca’s regulatory footprint as the US, UK, Europe, Japan, India and the Bahamas. Singapore and the UAE are missing from that list, correctly, because both approvals are still conditional.

Alpaca is also arriving in a market where rivals already hold licences. Payward, Kraken’s parent, won full market approval from Dubai’s VARA on 12 October 2026. Alpaca is aiming at a different customer: rather than selling to UAE retail investors, it wants to be the regulated layer under the apps that serve them, the model Fintechbits explains in its guide to brokerage infrastructure.

Fintechbits analysis

Why Two Approvals in a Month Help Alpaca Sell Before It Can Operate

Alpaca is building a licence portfolio ahead of demand, and that is the right order for an infrastructure business. A fintech in Riyadh or Abu Dhabi that wants to offer US stocks to its customers will pick a provider with a local entity and a local regulator, because its own regulator will ask. Each in-principle approval moves Alpaca closer to being that provider, and it gives sales teams something to show before the permission arrives.

The risk is that IPAs are announced loudly and conditions are met quietly, sometimes months later. The release gives no timeline for meeting the FSRA’s conditions and no list of virtual assets Alpaca Middle East will custody. Virtual asset custody is the more interesting half. Alpaca already pushes into on-chain assets and event contracts, including its Kalshi partnership announced on 31 August 2026, and ADGM has one of the more developed virtual asset regimes in the Gulf. A UAE entity that can custody both equities and tokens for partner apps would be a stronger product than a straight brokerage pipe.

Until the permission is granted, the Alpaca ADGM approval matters mainly to Alpaca’s sales team, because no partner app can use the Abu Dhabi entity. The story gets more useful when that permission arrives with a first named partner.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Alpaca ADGM approval?

The Alpaca ADGM approval is an in-principle approval from Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority for Alpaca Clearing & Custody ME Ltd’s application for a Financial Services Permission. Alpaca says the entity plans brokerage services and virtual asset custody once the permission is granted.

Can Alpaca Middle East offer services in the UAE?

No. Alpaca’s own disclaimer states that the in-principle approval is not a Financial Services Permission and does not authorise regulated activities in or from ADGM. Services remain subject to the FSRA’s conditions and the scope of any permission granted.

How does the ADGM step compare with Alpaca’s other approvals?

Fintechbits notes that the ADGM approval is Alpaca’s second in-principle approval in a month, after Singapore’s MAS on 28 September 2026. Neither appears in the regulatory footprint Alpaca lists in its release, which covers the US, UK, Europe, Japan, India and the Bahamas.

What to Watch Next

The event that matters is the FSRA granting the full Financial Services Permission, and with it the final scope of virtual asset custody Alpaca Middle East may offer. The second signal is a named UAE or Gulf fintech going live on Alpaca’s API through the Abu Dhabi entity. Singapore is the parallel test: whichever IPA converts to a licence first will show how quickly Alpaca can turn approvals into business.