Virtual Asset Ecosystem

Virtual Assets in the U.A.E. have been classified as fully regulated, by the U.A.E. Ministry of Economy – Anti-Money Laundering Department. 

• According to the Ministry, the U.A.E. has created a regulatory ecosystem for Virtual Assets, which:
  • Synchronises the country’s federal and local regulatory landscape and
  • Aligns 1) supervisory and 2) enforcement levers.
    
    
• The ecosystem, which is meant to be, at the same time: 1) progressive and 2) secure, is based on the comprehensive set of Guidelines, which:
  • Set out supervisory controls, to ensure: 1) market growth, on the one hand, and 2) investor protection, on the other.
  • With the objective of operating Virtual Assets, with agility, and yet, mitigating and managing risks, associated with Virtual Assets.

The Guidelines further qualify the previously passed UAE Cabinet Decision No. (111) of 2022 on Regulation of Virtual Asset Activities and Service Providers in the UAE.

• Which was drafted in collaboration with the:
  • 1) the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority, for investment purposes; and
  • 2) the Central Bank of UAE, for payment purposes,

The U.A.E.’s designation of Virtual Assets as a regulated category was announced by the Ministry of Economy-Anti-Money Laundering Department in a press release on April 18, 2023.