Dubai to become specialised crypto zone in digital assets push
Dubai’s government has revealed plans for the city to become a specialised crypto zone as regional economic competition heats up.
Dubai’s World Trade Centre will set up a “comprehensive zone and regulator” for digital assets, products, operators and exchanges the Dubai Media Office announced in a statement today.
The trade organisation will work with the private centre to create an attractive environment with rigorous standards for investor protection, anti money laundering, combating financing for terrorism and monitoring compliance and cross border payments.
“The Dubai World Trade Centre will be designing a comprehensive ecosystem for this progressive sector within Dubai,” an official statement said. “The step continues to accelerate Dubai’s standing as a leading global centre for business, trade and technology.”
The statement said that Dubai is hoping to further develop a “crypto zone” which allows the country to create a framework for innovative financial products including blockchain based technology such as NFTs.
The news comes as government’s worldwide race to develop regulatory frameworks for digital assets. The US is in the process of creating a comprehensive regime as is the European Union which is developing a pan-European framework.
Hot on the heels of its neighbours the UK’s Central Bank has made repeated calls for the regulatory community to bring forwards crypto asset regulation to protect investors.
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