DUBAI’s VARA issues specialised regulations for virtual assets

DUBAI’s VARA issues specialised regulations for virtual assets

DUBAI, 7th February, 2023 (WAM) – Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), has issued its Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023. The Regulations set out a comprehensive Virtual Asset (VA) Framework built on principles of economic sustainability and cross-border financial security. The UAE has remained committed to enabling these drivers safely, updating its oversight and regulatory approach, addressing global risks of money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF), arising from the potential misuse of new technologies.

The VA Framework is structurally designed to offer regulatory certainty – allowing the market to have greater clarity on the expected level of operator responsibility. It also mandates gold-standard risk assurance and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards to be applied by licensed entities within the Emirate.

Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General Dubai’s Department of Economy & Tourism, and Chairman of VARA’s Executive Board said: “Dubai’s D33 Economic Plan has outlined our mission to establish the Emirate as the capital of the Future Economy anchored by Metaverse, AI, Web3.0 and Blockchain.

In Q1-2022, VARA was launched as the world's only independent and specialist regulator for Virtual Assets to serve as the accelerator for a truly borderless Digital Economy. Ahead of its first anniversary since establishment, VARA launches the