The UAE’s crypto story has often been framed as a race to innovate. But Q3 2025 marks a turning point: regulators aren’t just experimenting anymore — they’re enforcing. Across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and the mainland, five authorities pushed new rules that will reshape how stablecoins, tokenized assets, and payment tokens operate in one of the world’s most ambitious digital-asset hubs.
Dubai’s VARA made its Virtual Asset Issuance Rulebook effective this June, locking in disclosure duties, reserve requirements, and full licensing for fiat-referenced (FRVA) and asset-referenced (ARVA) tokens. Translation? If you want to issue a stablecoin or tokenize real-world assets in Dubai, you’re now playing by institutional-grade rules — and VARA is already testing the waters with enforcement.
The SCA introduced a new framework for Security and Commodity Tokens, bringing digital contracts under existing securities law. At the same time, it consulted on tokenized sukuk, hinting at a future where Islamic finance and blockchain converge. If realised, that could be a global first — making sukuk more accessible and liquid through fractionalisation.
In Abu Dhabi, the FSRA updated its digital-asset guidance, streamlined approvals, and drew a hard line against privacy coins and algorithmic stablecoins. It also opened consultation on fiat-referenced tokens — expanding oversight to custody, payments, and intermediation. The message is clear: ADGM wants to attract serious players, but only those willing to play inside the guardrails.
The CBUAE officially ended its transition period for Payment Token Services. From now on, general retail payments onshore can only be made with licensed, dirham-pegged stablecoins. For merchants and PSPs, that narrows the rails to CBUAE-approved tokens — a major nudge toward a domestic stablecoin ecosystem.
Perhaps the most headline-grabbing news came from the Dubai Land Department (DLD). Its property-title tokenization pilots sold out instantly, drawing hundreds of investors from dozens of countries. With the launch of the DIFC PropTech Hub, the UAE is building a sandbox-to-scale pipeline for tokenized real estate. In a country where property is king, this is a glimpse of the future.
Behind all these flashy pilots and frameworks lies a less visible, but equally crucial shift: compliance with the FATF Travel Rule. VASPs must now share user data across borders, creating new privacy risks and operational headaches. This is where tools like Shyft Veriscope come in — offering a frictionless, peer-to-peer way to comply without parking sensitive data in centralised databases. For firms in the UAE, that could be the difference between regulatory success and privacy failure.
The UAE is moving from regulatory ambition to execution. Stablecoins are regulated, tokenized assets have clear pathways, and payments are narrowing to licensed rails. At the same time, real estate tokenization is proving there’s real demand beyond theory.
For founders, issuers, and investors, the signal is clear: the UAE isn’t just a crypto playground anymore — it’s becoming a serious, rules-based market. Those who embrace compliance as part of their strategy, rather than a burden, will be best placed to ride the next wave of growth.
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Veriscope, the compliance infrastructure on Shyft Network, empowers Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) with the only frictionless solution for complying with the FATF Travel Rule. Enhanced by User Signing, it enables VASPs to directly request cryptographic proof from users’ non-custodial wallets, streamlining the compliance process.
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