Share this article
New UAE Sweeping Banking Decree Looks to Cement Country’s Global Crypto Position
UAE’s new financial law brings crypto and blockchain into traditional finance and under Central Bank’s supervision.
Nov 26, 2025, 9:31 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
What to know:
- The UAE's new central bank law integrates digital assets and DeFi into traditional banking regulations, aiming to position the country as a global financial innovation hub.
- The law requires all crypto and blockchain organizations operating in or from the UAE to be licensed by the CBUAE, with fines for unlicensed operations reaching up to 1 billion dinars ($272 million).
- New regulations include faster licensing decisions, risk-based capital rules, and enhanced Shari’ah governance, promoting innovation and compliance in the digital asset space.
The United Arab Emirates' new central bank law enacted recently brings digital assets and decentralized finance (DeFi) into traditional banking regulatory compliance and positions the country as a global financial innovation hub.
The new law, which was enacted in September but made public this week, contemplates fines for unlicensed operations within the country of up to 1 billion dinars ($272 million) and states all crypto and blockchain organizations that conduct business in or from the UAE must be licensed by the CBUAE regardless of the technology it uses.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
The Federal Decree Law No. 6 of 2025 introduces sweeping reforms replacing the country’s Central Bank (CBUAE) framework. It brings virtual assets, DeFi protocols, stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, decentralized exchanges, wallets, bridges and all supporting blockchain infrastructure under the central bank’s authority.
Marina D’Angelo, head of Europe at DLT Law, an international regulatory and legal blockchain advisory, suggested it is still too soon to speculate how the new law will benefit the Gulf nation’s position as a global crypto hub.
“With the new federal law now in force the UAE has effectively redrawn the regulatory perimeter around digital assets,” D’Angelo told Coindesk. “How this ultimately plays out with regard to DeFi remains to be seen.”
The law aims to foster innovation by providing 60-day licensing decisions, risk-based capital rules, and a full one-year grace period (until September 2026) for existing players to become compliant, according to the text of the legislation.
New licensable categories include virtual asset payments, open finance and digital wallets. Stronger fraud protections, fast-track dispute resolution up to AED 100,000 and enhanced Shari’ah governance create a clear runway for Islamic DeFi and the increasingly popular tokenized Sukuk, traditional Islamic bonds issued and traded as blockchain tokens. Last year alone, global Sukuk issuances hit $65.6 billion and are projected to grow to $2.5 trillion by 2029.
While Europe’s MiCA is still rolling out, the UAE just delivered one of the world’s most comprehensive national frameworks that treats digital assets as a core part of the financial system.
Más para ti
Más para ti
Crypto group counters Wall Street bankers with its own stablecoin principles for bill
After the bankers shared a document at the White House demanding a total ban on stablecoin yield, the crypto side answers that it needs some stablecoin rewards.
Lo que debes saber:
- The U.S. Senate's crypto market structure bill has been waylaid by a dispute over something that's not related to market structure: yield on stablecoins.
- The Digital Chamber is offering a response to a position paper circulated earlier this week by bankers who oppose stablecoin yield.
- The crypto group's own principles documents argues that certain rewards are needed on stablecoin acvitity, but that the industry doesn't need to pursue products that directly threaten bank deposits business.
