UAE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Irina Heaver and Zainab Kamran, NeosLegal
Blockchain and Virtual Assets in the UAE: The Leading Global Hub The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has firmly positioned itself as a global leader in regulating and enabling emerging technologies, particularly in blockchain, Web3 and AI. Through progressive regulatory frame- works, strategic investments and forward-thinking policies, the UAE has fostered an environment where innovation thrives alongside robust compliance. The country has attracted a surge of both regulated Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) and unregu- lated Web3-native ventures, creating one of the most dynamic crypto ecosystems globally. From major exchanges such as Binance, Crypto.com, Bybit, OKX and Kraken to tokenisation platforms, RWA issuers, stablecoin issuers and DAO infrastructure providers, leading players continue establishing and expanding their presence in the region. What sets the UAE apart is regulatory clarity, but also the holistic infrastructure supporting innovation and entrepreneurship. The UAE offers 0% personal income tax, a competitive 9% corporate tax, seamless busi- ness setup processes, investor-friendly visa pathways and broad access to international markets. Coupled with venture capital inflows, geopolitical stability and a growing talent base, these advantages make the UAE a preferred launchpad for virtual asset ventures. 2026 regulatory map At federal level, the Capital Market Authority (CMA), the successor to the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) under Federal Decree-Law No 32 and No 33 of 2025, effective 1 January 2026, regulates vir- tual asset activities across onshore UAE. The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) regulates payment tokens (ie, stablecoins), licenses AED-backed stablecoins, and registers foreign currency-backed stablecoins under the Payment Token Services Regulation 2024 (PTSR). In Dubai, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), launched in 2022 as the world’s first dedi- cated virtual assets regulator, continues to license and supervise VASPs across the emirate (excluding the DIFC). VARA now operates under its updated Rule- book Version 2.0, in force since 19 June 2025, which
materially recalibrated capital, governance, conduct and AML/CFT expectations. The two Financial Free Zones, namely Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), continue to operate under their own common law-based legal systems, courts and regulatory frameworks. Both have moved aggressively in 2025–2026 to build out tokenisation, stablecoin and digital-securities frame- works. In addition, 45+ commercial free zones offer rapid incorporation, tax efficiencies, and founder-focused features for businesses operating in unregulated Web3 verticals such as protocol development, DAO infrastructure and certain categories of token issu- ance. This layered structure remains the UAE’s competitive advantage. However, navigating five parallel regimes in 2026 requires sharper specialist expertise than ever before, and the complexity creates a consumer protection risk that bad actors may exploit by misrepresenting their licensing status. In response, NeosLegal launched the UAE VASP Licence Tracker, the first consolidated, monthly- updated public database covering every active licence across VARA, ADGM/FSRA, DIFC/DFSA, CBUAE and the CMA, with 100 entities recorded as of June 2026. The most consequential federal development of 2026 is the replacement of the SCA by the CMA. On 1 Jan- uary 2026, Federal Decree-Law No 32 of 2025 and Federal Decree-Law No 33 of 2025 came into force, repealing Federal Law No 4 of 2000 and modernising the federal legislative framework for capital markets activities, including the regulation of virtual assets at federal level. Recent regulatory developments From SCA to CMA : a federal reset
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