UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade Thani Al-Zeyoudi noted that as the country has attracted a lot of talent from the crypto sector, the UAE now needs to roll out the correct regulation to support further growth.


Crypto will play a “ major part ” in the United Arab Emirates global trade moving forward, says the UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade Thani Al- Zeyoudi.

Speaking with Bloomberg on Jan. 20 in Davos Switzerland where world leaders are presently gathered for the 2023 World Economic Forum — Al- Zeyoudi delivered a host of updates regarding the UAE’s trade collaborations and policies heading into 2023.

Commenting on the crypto sector, the minister stated that “ crypto will play a major part for UAE trade going forward, ” as he outlined that" the most important thing is that we insure global governance when it comes to cryptocurrencies and crypto companies. ”

Al- Zeyoudi went on to suggest that as the UAE works on its crypto regulatory regime, the focus will be on making the Gulf country a hub with crypto-friendly  methodologies that also have sufficient protections in place 

“We started attracting some of the companies to the country with the aim that we’ll build together the right governance and legal system, which are needed.”

The comments from Al- Zeyoudi come just a week after the UAE Cabinet introduced new regulation which basically ensures that entities engaging in crypto exercise must secure a license and approval from the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority( VARA).

If companies fail to do so they will face fines of up to$2.7 million under the new law. The move adds to the “ Guiding Principles ” for digital asset regulation and supervision that were published by the financial regulator of Abu Dhabi’s Global Market free economic zone in September.

The principles outline a friendly stance towards crypto while also pledging to comply with international standards in Anti-Money Laundering( AML), combating the financing of terrorism (CFT), and supporting financial sanctions.

The UAE’s minister of state for artificial intelligence and the digital economy, Omar Sultan Al Olama also appeared at the World Economic Forum as part of a crypto-focused panel on Jan. 19.

Al Olama noted that while the FTX debacle was a major concern, the UAE still wants to be a hub despite the whole ordeal.   “ Them( crypto companies) calling the UAE home is surely a positive thing, ” he said. 

Related: Abu Dhabi- grounded Venom Foundation launches$ 1B fund for Web3 and blockchain

The minister also receded the UAE from assertions that its cities like Dubai tend to become critical spots for disgraced crypto numbers to flee to, arguing that “ bad actors don’t have a nationality and don’t have a destination. ”   He did stress still that governments do need to work together to stop bad actors from going awol overseas.

“ You'll see them everywhere. You'll see them in the Bahamas, you'll see them in New York, London, and what we need to do as governments is to work together, with the industry as well, to insure that if someone does commodity wrong he can not move from one place to the other, ” he said.

(BRIAN QUARMBY, Cointelegraph, 2023)