Dubai World Trade Centre To Become Regulator And Hub For Crypto
The Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) will become a crypto zone and regulator for cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets, as part of efforts to attract new business as regional economic competition heats up.
As the crypto sector moves towards a mainstream adoption stage, Dubai, one of the seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), wants to solidify its position as one of the top crypto-friendly jurisdictions in the world.
DWTC to Become Crypto Zone
The Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), a government-owned event and exposition facility in Dubai, announced on December 20 that it will become a comprehensive zone and regulator for cryptocurrencies, products, operators, and exchanges.
The initiative aims to promote mass adoption of crypto by designing a “comprehensive ecosystem” for the rapidly growing industry. It aims to work with the private sector and other important entities needed to make crypto accessible and more secure for residents.
According to the Dubai Media Office:
“The Dubai World Trade Center will collaborate with the private sector and relevant entities in Dubai to create an attractive environment for the sector and enforce rigorous standards for investor protection, Anti Money Laundering (AML), Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) compliance and cross border deal flow tracing.”
Additionally, the initiative comes as part of the authority’s efforts to develop the Dubai virtual asset market. They also want to create policies for the seamless integration of “innovative financial products” and adopt new trends that are currently making waves both within and outside the crypto industry. These include the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) mania.
“The step continues to accelerate Dubai’s standing as a leading global center for business, trade, and technology, the World Trade Center will deliver and oversee a new world-class regulatory framework of Virtual Asset legislative and enforcement policies, will be critical to facilitating and broadening cross-border operations and ecosystem innovation to enable safe market adoption and growth for this sector in Dubai,” it concluded.
Crypto Regulatory Framework
The Dubai Financial Services Authority announced back in January that as part of its 2021 business plan, it would establish a crypto regulatory framework. So far, the authority has awarded a number of regulatory permissions for the crypto business, and Dubai has become a hub for various crypto-friendly free zones.
In September, the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority and the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) agreed a framework that allows the DWTCA to approve and licence financial activities relating to crypto assets.
In October, another Dubai free zone DIFC, Dubai’s state-owned financial free zone and the Middle East’s major finance centre, released the first part of a regulatory framework for digital tokens.
