Dubai's Crypto Crackdown: VASPs Have Until June 19 to Get in Line or Face the Heat

VARA Drops Version 2.0 of Rulebooks, Tightening the Screws on Crypto Services

Listen up, crypto cowboys! Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) just threw down the gauntlet, giving all Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) until June 19 to play by the new rules. That's right, VARA's pushing hard to clean up the crypto Wild West and keep the market honest.

On May 19, VARA unleashed Version 2.0 of its activity-based Rulebooks, and they're not messing around. Every VASP in Dubai's got to get their act together by the deadline, or else. The new rules crank up the heat on everything from advisory to asset management, and from custody to exchange services. Lending, borrowing, transfer, and settlement? Yeah, they're all getting a tighter leash too.

What's in Version 2.0, you ask? Buckle up! We're talking beefed-up controls on margin trading and token distribution, clearer rules on collateral wallet setups, and uniform compliance requirements across the board. No more cutting corners, folks!

But don't panic just yet. VARA's giving everyone a 30-day transition period to get their ducks in a row. And guess what? Their Supervision Teams are rolling up their sleeves to help VASPs navigate this new terrain. It's all hands on deck to make sure everyone's on the straight and narrow.

Ruben Bombardi, VARA's General Counsel and Head of Regulatory Enablement, didn't mince words: "Our commitment remains to ensuring that innovation and compliance go hand in hand. These rulebook updates reinforce the foundations of a responsible, scalable ecosystem." You heard the man—innovation's cool, but not at the expense of playing by the rules.

This isn't VARA's first rodeo, either. Remember last October when they cracked down on seven rogue crypto outfits, slapping them with fines from 50,000 to 100,000 AED? Those guys were told to pack it up and stop peddling their virtual wares. VARA's not playing around with enforcement.

And just a few months ago, in February, they announced plans to unmask crypto whales. VASPs will have to spill the beans on the real identities of those big token holders. No more hiding behind pseudonyms in Dubai's crypto scene!