UAE's CMA expands regulatory scope for virtual assets to eight activities

Firms operating in the virtual asset sector now face a expanded set of regulated activities, with the scope increasing from three to three eight. The regulated activities now include dealing in virtual assets as virtual assets as principal and agent, custody and arranging custody, arranging investment deals, investment advice, portfolio management, and operating a multilateral trading facility. This expansion is part of a newly issued Virtual Assets Framework by the UAE's Capital Market Authority (CMA). The framework establishes a legislative and supervisory structure for the sector, structured across five modules covering general requirements, conduct of business, alternative trading systems, alternative trading systems, and prudential requirements, as well as anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing. A dedicated alternative trading system module now regulates trading facilities for virtual assets, conventionalised securities, and tokenised securities.