Two jurisdictions in the Middle East have sought to codify
regulation of crypto assets, crypto exchanges, crypto custodians
and related business: the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a free
zone in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, and
the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Crypto Assets Exchanges in ADGM
Investors, traders and issuers of cryptocurrencies face an
ambiguous regulatory climate in the UAE. On the one hand, the it is
government policy to be at the forefront of new industries and
innovation and promoting distributed ledger technology (including
its subset blockchain) is a government priority. On the other hand,
the UAE is a jurisdictional patchwork of seven Emirates and
approximately fifty free zones, of which two are financial free
zones that are carved out from the UAE civil and commercial legal
structure. Different government entities in different UAE
jurisdictions have issued guidance notes, white papers, circulars
and announcements regarding
