​​The Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) is the Authority regulating the virtual asset- related activities conducted in or from the UAE (excluding the emirate of Dubai, DIFC and ADGM). VARA will streamline regulatory applications and operating licensing approvals for Virtual Assets including digital assets, products, operators, and exchanges - making Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) Authority to be the new dedicated zone for regulated Virtual Assets businesses.

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Key Benefits

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• Full foreign ownership and repatriation of capital

• All-inclusive company formation business start-up packages

• A wide range of co-working and traditional offices

• A prestigious business address in the heart of the city

• Client e-Services platform for Registration, Licensing, Visa, and Tenant Services

• Proximity to regions’ leading trade exhibitions and business events

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Categories of Licences (Virtual Asset Activities)

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Broker-Dealer Services

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• arranging orders for the purchase and sale of Virtual Assets between two Entities;

• soliciting or accepting orders for Virtual Assets & accepting fiat currency, or other Virtual Assets, for such orders;

• facilitating the matching of transactions in Virtual Assets between buyers and sellers;

• entering into Virtual Asset transactions as a dealer on behalf of the Entity for its own account;

• making a market in Virtual Assets using client assets; or

• providing placement, distribution or other issuance related services to clients issuing Virtual Assets.

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Custody Services

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• means safekeeping Virtual Assets for or on behalf of another Entity and acting only on verified instructions from or on behalf of such Entity.

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Lending and Borrowing Services

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• means carrying out a contract under which a Virtual Asset shall be transferred or lent from one or more parties [the Lender[s]] to one or more other parties [the Borrower[s]] where the Borrower[s] shall commit to return the same, at the request of the Lender[s], at any time either during or at the end of the period agreed upon.

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Transfer & Settlement Services

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• means receiving Virtual Assets, for the transmission or transfer of such Virtual Assets from one Entity to another Entity or from one Entity to another VA Wallet, address or location.

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VA Management and Investment Services
 

• means acting on behalf of an Entity as an agent, or fiduciary, or otherwise taking responsibility for the management, administration or disposition of that Entity’s Virtual Assets. Examples may include, but shall not be limited to :

  • investment management services or otherwise managing Virtual Assets; and

  • taking responsibility for the staking of Virtual Assets for the purposes of earning fees or other amounts paid to validators and/or node operators of a proof-of-stake Distributed Ledger Technology

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Advisory Services

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• refers to offering, providing or agreeing to provide a personal recommendation to a client, either upon its request, or on the initiative of the Entity providing the recommendation, in respect of one or more actions or transactions relating to any Virtual Asset .

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Exchange Services

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• conducting an exchange, trade or conversion between Virtual Assets and fiat currency;

• conducting an exchange, trade or conversion between one or more Virtual Assets;

• matching orders between buyers and sellers and conducting an exchange, trade or conversion between:

  • Virtual Assets and fiat currency or

  • one or more Virtual Assets; or

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Virtual Asset Issuance

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Virtual Asset issuances in the Emirate are categorised, along with the applicable requirement prior to the Virtual Asset being issued, as follows:

 

Category 1

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Issuance of:

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Fiat-Referenced Virtual Assets [FRVAs], defined as types of Virtual Assets that purport to maintain a stable value in relation to the value of one or more fiat currencies, but do not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction, as more fully defined in the FRVA Rules. The issuance of any FRVA that purports to maintain a stable value in relation to the value of AED shall not be approved under the VA Issuance Rulebook and the FRVA Rules and shall remain under the sole and exclusive regulatory purview of the CBUAE;

 

Proprietary Trading

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VA proprietary trading will require a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from VARA to confirm that the activity may be undertaken with regulatory oversight without a VA licence. Additionally, proprietary trading above certain volumes is an activity that must be registered with VARA

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