Newly updated guidelines from Dubai’s crypto regulator include provisions on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and clarify rules for issuers.
On May 19, Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) released its updated Rulebook for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating in the region. The regulator gave market participants until June 19 to comply with the new rules.
The regulator previously told Cointelegraph that it had enhanced supervisory mechanisms and brought consistency across activity-based rules. One of the more prominent changes includes regulatory clarity on RWA tokens.
Irina Heaver, partner at the United Arab Emirates-based law firm NeosLegal, told Cointelegraph that the updated rules clarify RWA issuance and distribution.
“Issuing real-world asset tokens and listing them on secondary markets is no longer theoretical,” Heaver told Cointelegraph. “It’s now a regulatory reality in Dubai and the broader UAE.”
A “viable” path to realize RWA hype
Heaver compared RWAs to security token offerings (STOs),