Just wanted to share my experience on here after engaging proper lawyers in the UAE. Almost all crypto activity is considered a regulated activity in Dubai. Any business consultants selling dubai corporate structures for things like ICO's (token offerings), DeFi platforms, Crypto exchanges, DAOs etc. are doing so negligently (possibly illegally?) and you will end up in trouble with regulator(s). The advice from lawyers was to establish a development company in dubai, to employ devs and staff etc. and then issue tokens using a BVI company (with legal advice from BVI lawyers) and a further BVI or Cayman company/foundation for operating the protocol. Following a referral from the lawyers, i ended up working with a specialist crypto corporate services provider based in Dubai, but who actually do most of their work offshore. Not the cheapest, but proper professionals who have done it 100 times before.
For those who are actually looking to obtain a regulatory license, Dubai is a great option, i've had multiple meetings with our lawyers (big magic circle law firm) and the new Crypto regulator in Dubai (VARA) as well as the regulators in DIFC and ADGM. It's a rigorous application process but it's possible to open channels of communication and discuss requirements and obtain your license.
If you're looking to play in the unregulated space though, doing so through dubai companies is dangerous. I understand the one exception is a NFT marketplaces for which you can actually get a license for, but token offerings and blockchain protocols are a big no.
Hope this helps others looking down a similar path, or who don't have the funding to spend big money on the lawyers to work this out like i did. Please be aware the many dubai company set up agents, i was told multiple times that i could structure my business and token offering through a dubai company (in various freezones) which was entirely false. Avoid the charlatans.
For those who are actually looking to obtain a regulatory license, Dubai is a great option, i've had multiple meetings with our lawyers (big magic circle law firm) and the new Crypto regulator in Dubai (VARA) as well as the regulators in DIFC and ADGM. It's a rigorous application process but it's possible to open channels of communication and discuss requirements and obtain your license.
If you're looking to play in the unregulated space though, doing so through dubai companies is dangerous. I understand the one exception is a NFT marketplaces for which you can actually get a license for, but token offerings and blockchain protocols are a big no.
Hope this helps others looking down a similar path, or who don't have the funding to spend big money on the lawyers to work this out like i did. Please be aware the many dubai company set up agents, i was told multiple times that i could structure my business and token offering through a dubai company (in various freezones) which was entirely false. Avoid the charlatans.
