UAE Minister Says Crypto Will Play “Major Role For UAE Commerce Going Forward”

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Source: Adobe/Tcherkas

The UAE plans to use crypto for trade in the future and also to put in place a functioning regulatory framework, according to the country’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade.

Speaking to Bloomberg on January 20 in Davos, Switzerland, where the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is held, Thani Al-Zeyoudi said the United Arab Emirates was considering trade in currencies other than the US dollar. One area the country is looking to develop is cryptocurrencies, he said, adding:

“Crypto will play a major role for UAE commerce in the future. The most important thing is that we ensure global governance when it comes to cryptocurrencies and crypto companies.”

Al-Zeyoudi added that the UAE continues to work on its crypto regulatory regime. He said the focus will be on transforming the Gulf country into a major hub with crypto-friendly policies that also have sufficient protections. He noted that the country has already seen some improvement in this area.

“We have started to attract some of the companies to the country with the aim of building together the good governance and the good legal system, which is necessary.”

Al-Zeyoudi’s comments come just a day after Omar Sultan Al Olama, the UAE’s minister of state for artificial intelligence, said the nation remains committed to its goal of becoming the global hub of cryptocurrency, regardless of recent incidents plaguing the crypto market. including the unprecedented collapse of FTX.

“The fact that they call the UAE home is definitely a positive thing,” Olama said, hinting at cryptocurrency exchanges moving to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, partly lured by virtual asset regulations. that the United Arab Emirates published last year.

Olama refuted claims that the UAE could become a haven for crypto criminals. He also noted that governments should work together to identify and stop bad actors.

“You will see them everywhere. You’ll see them in the Bahamas, you’ll see them in New York, in London, and what we need to do as governments is work together, with industry as well, to make sure that if somebody does something wrong, he won’t be able to move from place to place,” Olama said.

It should be noted that the UAE Cabinet recently introduced new regulations that require entities engaged in crypto activities to obtain a license and approval from the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to $2.7 million.

The latest regulations add to the “guiding principles” for the regulation and supervision of digital assets that were published by the financial regulator of the Abu Dhabi Global Market Free Economic Zone in September.

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