UAE to allow issuance of dirham-backed stablecoins

The board of directors of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has approved a new system to oversee and license stablecoins.

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has approved a new regulatory framework for stablecoins, Kokila Alagh, founder of KARM Legal Consultants, told local media outlet Unlock Blockchain on March 8.

The new regulations, which were discussed during a meeting of the CBUAE board of directors in Abu Dhabi, cover the issuance, licensing, and supervision of dirham-backed payment tokens, Alagh said.

According to the legal expert, the regulations stipulate that these tokens must be pegged to the UAE dirham and cannot be linked to other currencies, digital assets, or algorithms. Furthermore, only dirham-backed tokens will be permitted for acceptance by merchants and service providers.

While specific details of the meeting were not disclosed, the topics included key projects under the Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) program, the report noted.

On February 13, the CBUAE announced plans to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as part of the FIT initiative, which aims to enhance the efficiency and resilience of the financial sector in the UAE.

The news follows the announcement by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) this week of amendments to its cryptocurrency token regime to advance the regulatory framework for tokens within the special economic zone in the UAE.

The DFSA has revised its crypto token regime to incorporate changes proposed in Consultation Paper 153, which was published in January 2024. The amendments address key areas such as the regulation of funds investing in crypto tokens and the recognition process for these tokens.

Among the notable amendments are those pertaining to the ability of external and foreign funds to offer units in recognized crypto tokens. Previously, the DFSA prohibited fund activities involving crypto tokens. However, feedback from fund and asset managers during the consultation period highlighted the overly stringent nature of the existing regulations.

In response, the amendments now permit external and foreign qualified investor funds to offer units in recognized crypto tokens, subject to certain conditions. Domestic qualified investor funds are also permitted to invest in unrecognized tokens, up to a maximum exposure of 10% of the fund’s gross asset value (GAV). Until now, the DFSA had recognized only five crypto tokens: Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), XRP (XRP), and Toncoin (TON).

Previously, the application fee for each token recognition was $10,000, an amount that many firms, especially those seeking recognition for multiple tokens, found to be excessively high. Taking this feedback into account, the DFSA has reduced the fee to $5,000 and introduced additional recognition criteria for stablecoins, which are crypto tokens pegged to fiat currencies.

“These changes do not represent a more lenient regulatory stance by the DFSA,” the authority stated in the announcement. “Instead, they provide flexibility to recognize fiat-pegged crypto tokens issued in jurisdictions with comparable regulation.”