Region: Africa & Middle East

The world’s first dedicated crypto regulator, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, has released a virtual asset regulation regime tailored to licensees’ individual activities.

14 February 2023

Practitioners have welcomed revisions to Saudi Arabia’s decade-old prudential rules, calling them better tailored to the risks associated with different business activities.

10 January 2023

The world’s largest crypto exchange has obtained its third licence in the Gulf region, after a distressing few weeks for the digital assets space following the implosion of its major rival FTX.

17 November 2022

A year ahead of the United Arab Emirates’ hosting of COP28, the financial regulator for Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone has released what it describes as deliberately flexible and non-prescriptive rules on green and “greening” finance, and a new ESG disclosures framework for regulated entities, allowing applicants to apply standards of their own choosing beyond those recommended by global standard-setters.

15 November 2022

The Dubai Financial Services Authority has implemented its crypto token regime while announcing its first three officially recognised tokens.

02 November 2022

The Abu Dhabi Global Market’s financial regulator has revised its capital markets framework to include environmental instruments, virtual assets, spot commodities, securities, and derivatives.

29 September 2022

The Abu Dhabi Global Market, Abu Dhabi's financial centre, has announced new principles guiding its approach to virtual asset supervision as it vies with Dubai for the role of the region’s crypto hub.

15 September 2022

The financial regulator of Abu Dhabi’s free zone has fined fintech Wise for a series of poor money laundering controls, months after the FATF cited the UAE’s lax enforcement against money laundering in its decision to greylist the country.

01 September 2022

Saudi Arabia’s capital markets regulator has issued a set of rules aiming to streamline how sharia compliance is monitored in the Kingdom, with the status quo creating “uncertainty” in how products are classified.

28 July 2022

The financial regulator of the Abu Dhabi Global Market will develop what it calls the "world's first" regulated carbon credit trading exchange and clearing house, as its EU and Hong Kong counterparts place renewed emphasis on carbon markets.

30 March 2022