Regulatory landscape
One country, five licensing regimes
Where you set up and what you do decides which regulator you deal with. Two financial free zones have their own regulators. Dubai has a dedicated virtual-asset regulator for everywhere in the emirate outside the DIFC. Two federal authorities cover the rest of the country: the Central Bank of the UAE and the UAE Capital Market Authority (UAE CMA), previously the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA).
- CBUAECentral Bank of the UAEFederal, onshoreHow to get licensed by the CBUAE
- UAE CMAUAE Capital Market AuthorityFederal, onshoreHow to get licensed by the UAE CMA
- DFSADubai Financial Services AuthorityDubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)How to get licensed by the DFSA
- FSRAFinancial Services Regulatory AuthorityAbu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)How to get licensed by the FSRA
- VARAVirtual Assets Regulatory AuthorityDubai, outside the DIFCHow to get licensed by VARA
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