Regulatory roadmap for a progressive crypto industry in the UAE

Regulatory roadmap for a progressive crypto industry in the UAE

It is increasingly evident that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is becoming an attractive hub for crypto players, both from a market growth perspective as well as regulatory.

The past year has witnessed a widening investment and adoption of crypto and proliferation of Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs). With institutional investors entering the foray, the market is headed towards stability, offsetting the previously observed bouts of price volatility.

The Middle East is one of the fastest growing crypto markets in the world, with the UAE’s share in the global market around US$25 billion transactions, and it has increased by 500 per cent between July 2020 and June 2021.

Regionally, the UAE ranks third by volume, behind Turkey which had $132 billion in transactions volumes and close to Lebanon at $26 billion. Some of the key drivers of growth for crypto adoption in the UAE include friendly regulatory regime, government support, increase in private wealth and comparatively high consumer trust.

The UAE is also considered one of the most progressive use cases for crypto. Mass use cases we have seen for crypto in the UAE include airlines and real estate firms, some of which are now accepting payments in crypto.

While we are witnessing a boom