Dubai’s financial free zone is quietly rewriting how crypto is regulated — and the shift puts far more responsibility on the industry itself.
This week, the Dubai Financial Services Authority activated a revised Crypto Token Regulatory Framework that fundamentally changes who decides which crypto assets are acceptable inside the Dubai International Financial Centre. Instead of the regulator approving or rejecting tokens, licensed firms must now make those calls themselves.
Key takeaways:
Token suitability assessments are now the responsibility of licensed DIFC firms, not the DFSA.
The DFSA will no longer publish or maintain a list of approved crypto tokens.
The framework shifts toward a principles-based, firm-led compliance model.
Internal risk and compliance decisions will play a larger role in determining which tokens are supported.
Under the new rules, companies operating in the DIFC are required to assess whether any crypto token they deal with meets the DFSA’s suitability standards. In parallel, the regulator has scrapped its practice of maintaining a public list of “recognized” crypto tokens — a clear signal that oversight is moving away from prescriptive approvals toward internal accountability.
The update follows a consultation launched in October 2025 and marks the most significant evolution of the DFSA’s crypto regime since it was first introduced in 2022. According to the regulator, years of market observation and engagement with industry participants prompted the change.
Charlotte Robins, the DFSA’s managing director of policy and legal, framed the move as intentional. She said the regulator is leaning into a more flexible, principles-based framework that can adapt to fast-moving markets rather than relying on static rulebooks.
What this means for privacy-focused crypto
Notably, the new framework does not explicitly ban any category of digital assets. But the redistribution of responsibility has practical consequences — especially for privacy-oriented tokens.
Assets such as Monero and Zcash, which rely on enhanced anonymity features, are likely to face tougher internal reviews. Even without a formal prohibition, compliance teams may classify them as higher risk, triggering stricter due diligence or leading firms to avoid supporting them altogether.
In effect, privacy tokens could be sidelined not by regulation, but by risk management decisions made inside licensed institutions.
A regulatory patchwork inside Dubai and the UAE
The shift also highlights how fragmented crypto regulation remains across Dubai and the wider UAE. The DFSA’s authority applies only within the DIFC, which operates under a common-law framework distinct from Dubai’s onshore system.
Outside the DIFC, oversight falls to other regulators with very different approaches. Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority took a far stricter stance in 2023, explicitly banning “anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies” across most of the emirate. Under VARA’s rules, privacy coins and related activities are prohibited outright.
Elsewhere, Abu Dhabi’s Abu Dhabi Global Market applies a conservative, risk-based model without naming specific bans, while federal regulators focus heavily on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards.
The result is a country where the legality and viability of certain crypto assets depend heavily on geography. A token that may be permissible inside the DIFC could be restricted or banned just a few kilometers away.
By shifting responsibility to firms, the DFSA is signaling confidence in regulated institutions to police themselves — but it is also setting the stage for uneven outcomes. For crypto companies operating in Dubai, understanding where they are regulated may now matter just as much as what they trade.
