CMA Decision No. 26/Chairman of 2023 · UAE Federal
Chairman decision regulating virtual assets and their service providers, repealed by Decision No. 04/Chairman of 2026 on virtual asset service providers and alternative trading system operators.
Decision No. 26/Chairman of 2023 regulated virtual asset platform operators licensed by the Securities and Commodities Authority, under Cabinet Resolution No. 111 of 2022 on virtual assets and their service providers. Issued in Abu Dhabi on 14 April 2023, it took effect on publication in the Official Gazette (Article 9) and cancelled the Crypto Assets Activities Regulation, Decision No. 23/Chairman of 2020 (Article 8). It was itself repealed by Decision No. 04/Chairman of 2026 on virtual asset service providers and alternative trading system operators; it now matters for licences granted between 2023 and 2026.
Article 1 defined a virtual asset as a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded or transferred and used for investment, excluding digital forms of fiat currency, securities and other money, and a virtual asset platform as one for listing, trading, transferring, clearing and settling virtual assets on distributed ledger technology. Article 2 applied the decision to virtual asset platform operators in the State. Article 3 subjected them to the first, second and most of the third section of the Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities and to Articles 15 to 17 of the 2001 trading and custody regulations, and prohibited trading of any virtual asset in the State unless it was on a licensed operator's official list and registered with the Authority.
Article 4 let an operator either run the platform alone or also carry on other virtual asset service provider activities, and required it to register each accepted asset with the Authority before trading. Article 5 imposed system resilience, stress testing, final electronic ownership records, governance, conflict management and fair trading rules. Annex 1 set the due diligence factors for listing an asset, including AML transparency, liquidity, technology and cyber security risk.
Virtual asset platform operators licensed by the Securities and Commodities Authority in the UAE, the virtual asset service providers trading through them, and issuers seeking to have assets listed, between May 2023 and the 2026 repeal.
English official text in 9 articles. Open the full text or jump to a provision:
| Article 1 | Defines virtual assets as tradable or transferable digital representations of value usable for investment, excluding digital fiat, securities and other money; defines platform operator, service providers and distributed ledger. |
| Article 3 | Operators are subject to most of the Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities and Articles 15 to 17 of the 2001 trading regulations; no virtual asset may be traded in the State unless on a licensed operator's list and registered with the Authority. |
| Article 4 | An operator may run the platform alone or also act as a service provider; it must register each accepted virtual asset with the Authority before trading and its fees are subject to Authority oversight. |
| Article 5 | Continuing obligations: tested and resilient systems, business continuity, dematerialised final ownership records, governance and conflict controls, and fair, orderly trading rules. |
| Article 8 | Cancels Decision No. 23/Chairman of 2020 on crypto assets activities and any contrary provision. |
| Annex 1 | Due diligence before listing a virtual asset: regulatory status elsewhere, liquidity and volatility, transparency about founders and white papers, technology and interoperability, AML, cyber security, custody and settlement risks. |
Clients who obtained a CMA virtual asset licence between 2023 and 2026, or structured around one, built their compliance manuals on this decision. Since its repeal we point them to the 2026 regulation and their licensed compliance adviser for transition. For clients operating in Dubai, including its free zones but not the DIFC, the regulator is VARA instead. Polaris is not licensed by the CMA or VARA and provides no virtual asset services. We explain which regime applies, form and administer the operating company and its holding structure, coordinate with licensed advisers and the regulator's portal, and keep corporate, UBO, AML and tax records in order.
| Repealed by | CMA Decision No. 04/Chairman of 2026 |
| Cites | Federal Virtual Assets Regulation · Former SCA Law |
“Cites” and “Cited by” are built automatically from references in the full texts held in this library; they cover only instruments in the library.
Virtual Asset Service Providers and ATS Regulation
Issues the regulation of virtual asset service providers and alternative trading system operators: licensing categories and in-principle approval, systems, controls and c…
Former Crypto Assets Activities Regulation
Chairman decision regulating crypto asset activities, repealed by Decision No. 26/Chairman of 2023 on virtual asset platform operators.
Federal Virtual Assets Regulation
The federal framework for virtual assets outside the financial free zones. It makes the Securities and Commodities Authority the federal licensing authority for virtual a…
Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities (Rulebook)
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VASP Fees (Cabinet Resolution 83/2025)
Cabinet resolution setting the fees for services provided to virtual asset service providers, with provisions on amendment and collection of the fees.
VARA Regulations
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Dubai Virtual Assets Law (VARA)
Establishes the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) as a public corporation affiliated with the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority and empowers it to license…
Guidelines on Regulation of Virtual Assets and VASPs
Guidelines on virtual asset activities subject to licensing and the requirements for applicants and licensees, including technology governance, security, key and wallet s…
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