Digital assets are moving deeper into the world of big institutions, and the UAE is positioning itself at the centre of that shift. One company in that space is Flowdesk — founded in 2020, building the technology big investors use to trade digital assets, and now licensed by Dubai's crypto regulator VARA. Joining me is Guilhem Chaumont, Co-Founder and CEO of Flowdesk. Welcome to the show.
Good morning. Thank you for having me.
What did it take to secure a VARA licence and what does it change about how Flowdesk works with institutional clients in the UAE?
It is already a long process with a lot of scrutiny. You start to engage with the regulator and explain your plan. Coming with a strong institutional background — already operating in multiple jurisdictions and having secured a few licences elsewhere — was important. The plan for the UAE was quite obvious. It sits as a global liquidity hub in the middle of the world, and it is a very good bridge for us to start entering the region and working with institutional clients and various issuers operating here.
Why did Flowdesk choose Dubai as a regulated hub?
VARA is offering a relatively transparent and constructive regulatory framework that allows us to operate from day one — covering both our liquidity provision and OTC services. But what is most interesting for us is also the outlook. Topics around tokenisation, OTC derivatives, and others are becoming really central for us. We think it is one of the best frameworks to operate our business today, but also a framework that will allow us to keep scaling and serve all our clients in the future.
When a large institution is choosing a trading partner for digital assets, how should they size up the risk?
Institutions want to enter the space. The question is not whether — it is how. They are facing multiple options. Build everything themselves. Work with a large established institution. Or work with new incumbents like Flowdesk. What is really interesting is that crypto-native players like Flowdesk have seen a huge institutionalisation of their operations. Flowdesk now sits at the bridge between the two worlds — offering a competitive approach for institutions entering the space. We operate across the full geographic spectrum and across the full product spectrum — liquidity provision, OTC spot, derivatives, and credit.
What comes next after stablecoins and why are stocks and ETFs the next frontier?
The tokenisation roadmap is relatively simple. It is pretty obvious this is going to happen — the only question is how long it takes. We start with the simplest assets and move to the most complex. Stablecoins and money market funds were the obvious first step — already hundreds of billions in market cap. The next step is equities and indices — tokenisation of S&P 500 shares and indices is happening right now, with billions and billions in volumes. Then further down we will see tokenisation of illiquid assets — private credit, real estate. This will take years. But the advantages blockchain offers — instantaneous settlement, 24/7 365 trading, transparency — are quite obvious.
What is the biggest thing holding institutions back from trading on-chain?
The biggest issue has been a risk-reward calculation. They see the interest and the advantages — but it was too small a sandbox for them. The financial opportunity was not big enough when weighted against the risks: regulatory uncertainty, cyber risk, hacks, blockchain being compromised. Now that is changing. We are at the end of a 15-year journey of maturation for blockchain technology, and the regulatory clarity in Europe and the UAE is helping the transition significantly. We are probably in the very early days of this.
What is Flowdesk planning over the next two to ten years?
We are convinced we have the global coverage and the product range needed. Crypto is here to stay and tokenisation will bring every single asset on-chain. For us it is very much a long-term execution play — upgrading our capacity, upgrading our balance sheet, working with more institutional partners — banks, ETF providers, token issuers, high-net-worth individuals. It sounds boring, but it is about executing consistently, working with the right counterparties, and operating in a fully regulated and compliant environment.
Thank you so much for joining us.
Thank you for having me.
