Who Regulates Crypto in the UAE: VARA, the SCA and the Central Bank

The short version: in Dubai, crypto firms are licensed by VARA, except in the DIFC. At federal level, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) said in 2023 that firms outside the financial free zones need its licence, while firms in Dubai need only VARA's; and the Central Bank of the UAE's 2025 law gave firms under it one year, to 16 September 2026, to comply. This tracker covers VARA's register and notices; it does not cover the SCA, ADGM or DIFC registers.

VARA

VARA issued its Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations on 7 Feb 2023, covering seven licensed activities and VA issuance (VARA); its current list has eight (VARA). VARA describes its remit this way: “The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) is the sole authority regulating virtual assets across Dubai’s free zones and mainland, except within the jurisdiction of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).” 59 companies hold an active VASP licence on VARA's public register (read 21 Oct 2026).

The SCA

In July 2023 the SCA said its board's decisions require “all companies providing Virtual Asset services based in the country (except for companies licensed in Financial Free Zones) to obtain a license from the SCA”, and added: “All companies operating in Dubai must only obtain a license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), which will inform the SCA to have a unified register of all licensed Virtual Asset service providers in the UAE.” (SCA statement published by VARA). Each VARA register entry carries a CMA registration number.

The Central Bank Law

Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025 on the Central Bank came into force on 16 Sep 2025. Article 184 gave persons subject to it one year to bring their positions into line, to 16 Sep 2026; the CBUAE Board may extend this, and we found no published general extension (CBUAE Rulebook, law).

What This Tracker Does Not Cover

• Firms licensed by ADGM's Financial Services Regulatory Authority or the DIFC's Dubai Financial Services Authority.
• The SCA's own licence list.
• Licences VARA no longer shows as active.