In order to safeguard investors, Dubai’s new Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority demands more clarity and transparency from business marketers and promoters.
Local regulators are introducing more marketing and advertising regulations for the industry as Dubai moves forward with a new license program for cryptocurrency service providers.
New regulatory guidelines regarding the marketing, advertising, and promotion of virtual assets are reportedly being released on Thursday by Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), the city’s dedicated cryptocurrency regulator.
According to the local news source Gulf News, the VARA covered all forms of outreach, communications, and advertising, information dissemination, awareness-raising, customer engagement, investor solicitation, and others.
The rules apply to all virtual asset-related communications and organizations that post information on media websites, search engines, and offline and online distribution channels that cater to consumers in the Dubai market.
In order to avoid misleading potential customers, the rules reportedly also call for all local virtual asset service providers (VASPs), including advertising platforms, to guarantee factual accuracy and clearly state any promotional intent.
According to the VARA, the new regulations are related to Dubai’s license for a minimal viable product (MVP) with a focus on cryptocurrencies.
“These regulations specifically address marketing and communications activities, ahead of operationalizing the MVP licensees so that any mass-market information dissemination, and consumer solicitation are designed to safeguard community interests.”
As was previously mentioned, in July 2022, Sam Bankman-FTX Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange became one of the first businesses to be granted an MVP license by VARA through its local subsidiary FZE. The authorization allowed FZE to run a VASP in the area.
The guidelines for VARA were released alongside Abu Dhabi’s new plans to introduce a blockchain and virtual asset strategy that is in line with the nation’s overall economic strategy. The Abu Dhabi Blockchain and Virtual Assets Committee met for the first time on Thursday to discuss the plan.
With the exception of the Dubai International Financial Centre, all VASPs in the special development and free zones of the Emirate are subject to licensing and regulation by Dubai’s VARA, which was established in March 2022. The regulator, which in May bought land in the virtual reality universe The Sandbox, is well known for its ambitious plans for industry regulation.
