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UAE Securities Regulator to Start Accepting License Applications From Crypto Firms
The mandatory licensing regime applies to all companies seeking to provide services in the country, unless they are already licensed in financial free zones in the United Arab Emirates.
Updated Apr 18, 2023, 3:37 p.m. Published Apr 18, 2023, 11:05 a.m.
The federal securities regulator in the United Arab Emirates will start accepting applications from companies looking to provide crypto services in the country, according to a Monday announcement.
All virtual-asset service providers in the country – except for companies that are already licensed in the UAE's financial-free zones – must apply for approval with the Securities and Commodities Authority. The licensing regime was approved by the SCA on Monday following a decision by the UAE Council of Ministers last year to regulate the crypto sector. The SCA took on the role of regulating the sector earlier this year.
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Some of the seven emirates, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, already have licensing frameworks for crypto firms in force, with the local industry embracing Dubai's recently unveiled regime.
Companies looking to operate in the Emirate of Dubai must obtain a license from its Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority in addition to SCA approval, according to the announcement.
Firms seeking authorization will have to demonstrate "operational efficiency and flexibility," and meet certain operational standards.
Amendments have been made to the virtual-asset rule book from 2022, according to the announcement. Financial activities like brokerage and custody of virtual assets, as well as a new category of virtual-asset service provider, have been added to the legislation.
"A person wishing to engage in virtual-asset activities shall have headquarters in the State to conduct his business, according to one of the legal forms approved by the local authorities concerned with commercial licenses," the regulation dictates.
Read more: UAE Unveils CBDC Strategy, First Phase to Be Completed by Mid-2024
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What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
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