UAE Capital Market Authority. Federal regulator that replaced the SCA on 1 January 2026 with explicit authority over virtual assets.
The Capital Market Authority (CMA) is the UAE federal securities and virtual assets regulator that replaced the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) on 1 January 2026. It holds explicit authority over virtual assets at the federal layer and operates a mutual-recognition arrangement with VARA. For tokenization projects, the CMA is the federal route where the underlying asset is a security (equities, bonds, sukuk, fund units) and the issuer is not routing through DIFC/DFSA. Compliance windows for the new framework run toward early 2027.
Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, the world's first dedicated regulator for virtual asset service providers.
Asset-Referenced Virtual Asset. Dedicated VARA category for tokens representing ownership in real-world assets.
Real-World Asset. Any off-chain asset (real estate, funds, commodities, credit) represented on-chain via tokenization.
Dubai Financial Services Authority. Independent regulator for financial services conducted in or from the DIFC.