The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) is the regulator in charge of overseeing cryptocurrency laws within Dubai and has issued its “Full Market Product Regulations”. These include four compulsory rulebooks and activity-specific rulebooks that stipulate the requirements and conditions for operating Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP), applicable only to VASP within Dubai.

Scope of VARA regulations

The new regulations span the – comprehensive – list of seven licensed virtual asset provision services:

• Advisory services,
• Broker-Dealer services,
• Custodial services,
• Exchange services,
• Lending-Borrowing services,
• Payments and Remittances services, and
• Virtual Asset Management and Investment services.

Virtual asset marketing activities and issuance of virtual assets are also regulated activities under VARA where the obligations imposed on the issuer aim in aiding the public in making an informed decision on new tokens issued in Dubai.

Existing Minimum Viable Product (MVP) operational license applicants that hold provisional or preparatory MVP licenses, legacy virtual asset service providers based in the UAE, and new market participants will be provided with the route to full Full Market Product (FMP) licensing. As such, all VASP offering crypto asset services to the Dubai market before the publication of the Full Market Product (FMP) regulations will be required to apply under VARA and operate under full compliance with this set of final rules. Any breach of this condition will be subject to regulatory action by VARA.

Please contact us at info@salvusfunds.com if you would like additional information, help in achieving regulatory compliance with VARA, or support in setting up your crypto-asset business.

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