News, data and analysis on tokenized assets, market design and digital economic systems.
Payment tokens require a CBUAE licence and full reserve backing, with Dubai's VARA, ADGM's FSRA and the DFSA running parallel regimes for virtual assets and tokenized instruments alongside the federal framework.
The CBUAE's Payment Token Services Regulation, in force since 2024, requires licensing to issue, convert or custody payment tokens, mandates full reserve backing, prohibits algorithmic and privacy tokens, and limits merchant crypto payments to licensed dirham-backed tokens; AE Coin was the first licensed dirham stablecoin. Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority updated its rulebooks in 2025 to cover asset-referenced virtual assets explicitly, and ADGM's FSRA and the DFSA run parallel regimes for virtual asset service providers and tokenized instruments. The Digital Dirham Stablecoin Consortium (First Abu Dhabi Bank, International Holding Company and Sirius International Holding, issuing on ADI Chain) received a CBUAE no objection certificate on July 6, 2026 allowing it to go live on VARA-regulated platforms, and reported more than AED 150m processed since its institutional launch. In tokenized property, PRYPCO Mint operates with the Dubai Land Department and opened a secondary market in February 2026.
| Framework | Status | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBUAE Payment Token Services Regulation (Circular 2/2024) | In force | 31 August 2024 | Licensing of payment token issuance, conversion and custody; full reserve backing for dirham payment tokens; prohibition on algorithmic and privacy tokens; merchant acceptance limited to licensed dirham payment tokens. |
| VARA Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023 and rulebooks | In force | 7 February 2023 | Dubai-wide licensing of advisory, broker-dealer, custody, exchange, lending, management and transfer/settlement activities, with marketing rules and supervisory fees. |
| VARA rulebook amendments covering asset-referenced virtual assets | In force | 19 May 2025 | Version 2.0 rulebooks extend requirements to asset-referenced virtual assets, including tokenized real-world assets, and tighten margin trading and token distribution rules. |
| ADGM FSRA virtual asset and digital securities framework | In force | 25 June 2018 | Multilateral trading facility, custody and broker-dealer permissions for accepted virtual assets, plus a fiat-referenced token regime introduced in 2024. |
| DFSA Crypto Token regime (Rulebook Module CIR) | In force | 1 November 2022 | Recognition of crypto tokens for use in DIFC and licensing of related financial services, with a fiat crypto token category. |
| SCA and CBUAE joint framework on virtual assets outside the financial free zones | In force | 1 January 2023 | Federal licensing of virtual asset activities onshore, with SCA responsible for virtual assets treated as securities or commodities. |
| CBUAE no objection certificate for the Digital Dirham Stablecoin Consortium | In force | 6 July 2026 | Permits the FAB, IHC and Sirius International Holding consortium token, issued on ADI Chain, to operate on VARA-regulated platforms. |
| Dubai Land Department and VARA tokenized real estate programme | In force | 25 May 2025 | Title-deed-backed tokenized property investment through PRYPCO Mint, with a secondary market opened in February 2026. |
Every development we have evidenced under United Arab Emirates, newest first.
The bank announced on 3 September 2026 that clients of its Dubai Financial Services Authority-regulated entity can trade deliverable BTC/USD and ETH/USD spot through the electronic channels they already use for foreign exchange, settling with a custodian of their choice. It adds execution to a UAE custody service running since September 2024.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market brought spot crypto asset activities inside its rulebook, covering exchanges, custodians and other intermediaries operating in the free zone, with requirements on financial crime, technology governance, custody and consumer protection. Crypto asset exchanges were made subject to a daily value trading levy on a sliding scale.
The bank extended institutional deliverable spot trading in bitcoin and ether to clients of its Dubai International Financial Centre entity, routed through the same electronic channels its clients use for foreign exchange, and lets them settle with a…
Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Capital placed a $75m private markets strategy onchain through the KAIO platform on 23 July 2026, issuing on Solana, Sui and Base. Coinbase took exposure to the tokenized fund.
Mastercard and the African digital-asset platform Yellow Card announced a partnership on 7 May 2026 to build stablecoin-based payment and settlement rails across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
What issued, what settled, what the supervisors changed, with the numbers behind it and a note on what the numbers do not show. One email, Thursday mornings.
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