Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, the world's first dedicated regulator for virtual asset service providers.
The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) was established by Law No. (4) of 2022 to regulate virtual assets in the Emirate of Dubai (excluding DIFC). VARA's rulebooks cover company-level requirements (Compliance, Risk Management, Market Conduct, Technology and Information) and activity-specific requirements (Advisory, Broker-Dealer, Custody, Exchange, Lending and Borrowing, VA Management and Investment, VA Transfer and Settlement). VARA-licensed VASPs must satisfy fit-and-proper, capital, and ongoing supervision standards.
Dubai International Financial Centre, an independent common-law financial free zone with its own regulator (DFSA).
Abu Dhabi Global Market, a common-law financial free zone with its own courts and regulator (FSRA).
Virtual Asset Service Provider as defined by FATF, providing exchange, transfer, custody, or issuance services.