Foreign Trade Minister: Crypto To Play ‘Major Role’ In UAE Trade
Thani Al-Zeyoudi, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade, said that since the country has attracted a lot of talented people from the crypto sector, it needs to put in place the proper rules to support further growth.
Thani Al-Zeyoudi, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade, says that crypto will play a “major role” in the country’s global business in the future.
Al-Zeyoudi talked to Bloomberg on January 20 in Davos, Switzerland, where world leaders are meeting for the 2023 World Economic Forum. He shared much new information about the UAE’s trade partnerships and policies for 2023.
The minister said about the crypto sector, “Crypto will play a major role for UAE trade going forward.” He also said, “The most important thing is that we ensure global governance regarding cryptocurrencies and crypto companies.”
Al-Zeyoudi went on to say that as the UAE works on its crypto regulatory system, the focus will be on making the Gulf country a hub with crypto-friendly policies that also have enough protections in place:
“We started attracting some of the companies to the country with the aim that we’ll build together the right governance and legal system, which are needed.”
Al-comments Zeyoudi’s come just a week after the UAE Cabinet passed a new law that requires anyone who wants to do business in crypto to get a license and approval from the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).
Under the new law, companies that don’t do this could be fined up to $2.7 million. The move builds on the “Guiding Principles” for regulating and keeping an eye on digital assets, published in September by the financial regulator of Abu Dhabi’s Global Market free economic zone.
The principles show that crypto is welcome while also promising to follow international standards for anti-money laundering (AML), fighting the financing of terrorism (CFT), and supporting financial sanctions.
Omar Sultan Al Olama, the minister of state for AI and the digital economy in the UAE, also spoke at the World Economic Forum on January 19 as part of a panel about cryptocurrencies.
Al Olama said that the FTX mess was a big worry, but the UAE still wants to be a hub despite everything.
“Them [crypto companies] calling the UAE home is a positive thing,” he said.
The minister also defended the UAE against claims that its cities, like Dubai, are popular places for disgraced crypto figures to run away. He said, “Bad actors don’t have a nationality and don’t have a destination.”
He did, however, stress that governments need to work together to stop bad people from going missing abroad.
“You will see them everywhere. You will see them in the Bahamas, you will see them in New York, and London, and what we need to do as governments is to work together, with the industry as well, to ensure that if someone does something wrong, he can’t move from one place to the other,” he said.
