The Government of that country will publish the document during the first semester of next year
A financial regulator from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will present the regulation of the initial supply of currencies (ICO) in that country at the end of the first half of next year. The news about the development was announced on December 21st. The purpose of the measure is to provide companies with another way to raise capital.
The Securities and Commodities Authority of the United Arab Emirates (SCA), which regulates and supervises the markets, approved ICOs as securities and will work with the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market to develop a platform for trade of ICO tokens.
SCA’s Executive Director, Obad Al Zaabi, said the regulator “closed deals with law firms to create the testing environment and the rule books for the ICO issue”. Zaabi added that the legal requirements will be completed by the end of the first half of 2019.
Through an official article it is explained that the term “regulatory testing environment” refers to “a framework which facilitates the development of the financial technology industry”.
The expert indicated that the market is open. The ICO registration and license are available for all types of companies, from all over the world. “There is demand, we have already received a couple of requests for the issuance of cryptoactives and tokens”, he said.
The United Arab Emirates has presented other initiatives that can have a positive impact on the adoption of blockchain technology in the country. This year, the Advisory Council of the United Arab Emirates Banks Federation (UBF) discussed how to apply blockchain technology to its member banks.
In addition, the central bank of the United Arab Emirates is collaborating with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) to issue an accepted cryptocurrency in cross-border transactions between the two countries.
The SCA, on the other hand, showed no interest in traditional cryptocurrencies, stating that “Bitcoin, Ethereum and others are not our problem. We are more concerned about the emission of cryptoactives and how to bring them for commercialization in our bags”.
This institution indicates that it has also received requests to issue digital assets. But its representatives assure that “SCA considers safety as the main priority”; therefore, it will reserve the right to decide which ICOs may be issued in the country.
Similarly, Al Zaabi praised the blockchain technology, and described it as a factor that could add value to the infrastructure of the current UAE systems and markets.
“It will introduce layers of safety and efficiency. Especially changing local markets and volatile financial markets need international technologies such as blockchain to increase the speed of transactions and reduce overall costs”, said Al Zaabi.
By María Rodríguez
