Dubai Regulator VARA Sanctions 19 Crypto Firms Operating Without Licenses – Fines Up to $163K Each
The Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has sanctioned 19 crypto corporations for working unlicensed Virtual Asset operations and violating VARA’s Marketing Regulations.
The penalties included cease-and-desist orders alongside fines between AED 100,000 ($27,300) and AED 600,000 ($163,000), adjusted in accordance to the severity and extent of every violation.
A Tuesday official statement confirmed the sanctions function a public warning to customers, traders, and establishments that involvement with unlicensed operators presents substantial monetary, authorized, and reputational dangers.
“Enforcement is a crucial part of sustaining belief and stability in Dubai’s Virtual Asset ecosystem.”
VARA Tightened Marketing Rules And Licensing Requirements
These measures help VARA’s mandate to guarantee solely corporations assembly the best compliance and governance requirements can function.
All penalized firms have been ordered to cease operations instantly and halt any promotion of unlicensed Virtual Asset companies in or from Dubai.
This motion follows related enforcement in October 2024, when the regulator fined seven unlicensed crypto firms.
In that earlier spherical, fines ranged from AED 50,000 ($13,612) to AED 100,000 ($27,225), based mostly on the character and severity of violations.
In 2024, VARA strengthened its crypto marketing requirements, mandating disclaimers on promotional supplies.
The regulator additionally required prior authorization earlier than advertising services and products to residents and residents.
Updated rules goal to forestall the dissemination of deceptive data and prioritize client safety.
The rules deal with numerous points of promoting communications, together with the right use of language and the significance of offering full and clear disclosures.
The goal is to guarantee customers perceive the dangers and alternatives related to digital property.
Marketing regulation violations may end up in fines up to AED 10,000,000 ($2.7 million).
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has up to date its advertising rules as a part of its broader framework for VASPs.#Dubai #CryptoRegulationshttps://t.co/44qnpzP1aS
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) September 26, 2024
Beyond advertising, entities offering digital asset companies in or from Dubai should safe a VARA license.
This applies to actions like Virtual Asset Issuance, Trading Platforms, and Custody Services. The course of begins with making use of for Initial Approval to set up operations, then progressing to a full VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) license.
Cryptocurrency platforms, together with Crypto.com, Bybit, (*19*), and HashKey Group, have complied with these necessities by acquiring provisional approval from VARA, enabling them to provide digital asset alternate companies to retail, institutional, and certified traders in Dubai.
Why Dubai Became the World’s Most-Obsessed Crypto Nation
These developments happen because the UAE continues to set up itself as a regional heart for blockchain innovation and crypto finance, with regulatory readability attracting main international gamers.
Recall that White House AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks met with top UAE officials in March to talk about deeper collaboration in rising applied sciences and funding alternatives between the 2 nations.
Following the assembly, a state-backed funding agency, MGX in Abu Dhabi, invested $2 billion into Binance using USD1, a stablecoin developed by World Liberty Financial, a crypto enterprise intently linked to the Trump household.
A current study reveals the UAE ranked first among the many world’s “most crypto-obsessed nations” in 2025, recording distinctive crypto adoption development of 210%.
The UAE additionally scored 98.4%, with the best crypto possession price at 25.3%.
Dubai is now turning into a key vacation spot for crypto and stablecoin ventures looking for alternate options to the EU’s newly carried out Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.
Across the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), a Chainalysis report affirmed that the UAE is now the third-largest crypto financial system within the area.
Between July 2023 and June 2024 alone, the UAE obtained over $30 billion in crypto, rating among the many high 40 globally.
Crypto investments are additionally increasing quickly as numerous VC funds and blockchain businesses set up operations within the UAE, together with Chainalysis, which opened its regional headquarters in Dubai final 12 months.
Tether, the issuer of the world’s most traded stablecoin (USDT), additionally just lately announced plans to launch a stablecoin pegged to the Dirham.
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