Dubai’s regulator issued new guidance placing token launches into three buckets, tightening disclosure and governance standards for stablecoins, RWAs and other digital assets. Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) published detailed guidance on Thursday that clarifies how token issuers should structure, disclose and distribute virtual assets in the emirate, sharpening rules for stablecoins and real-world asset (RWA) tokens. The document, which interprets VARA’s existing Virtual Asset Issuance Rulebook rather than creating new law, sets out three distinct issuance pathways and spells out who is responsible for what in each. Rather than treating all tokens as if they pose the same risks, the framework draws clear lines between Category 1 issuances (including fiat-referenced virtual assets and asset-referenced virtual assets), Category 2 issuances that must be distributed via a VARA-licensed intermediary, and exempt virtual assets with limited functionality. Read more
Dubai’s property market is beginning to show early signs of weakening nearly three weeks into the US-Israeli war on Iran, with data from analysts showing tanking transaction volumes and some real estate agents pointing to price reductions. The war, and Tehran’s strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates, have pierced Dubai’s image as a safe haven for the world’s wealthy. Real-estate transaction volumes in the UAE fell 37 per cent year-on-year in the first 12 days of March, and 49pc month-on-month, Goldman Sachs analysts estimated in a note published this week. Some properties are already being offered at big discounts, with price cuts of 12-15pc, according to some real estate agents and messages on social media that Reuters reviewed. For instance, a seller was looking for a “quick sale” for a property close to the Burj Khalifa — the world’s tallest building — a message shared by an agent read. The seller was looking for $650,000, down about 12pc from a previous pric...
Abdul Malick sat among mourning relatives in his village in southern Pakistan, receiving condolences from neighbours after his nephew, Muzaffar Ali, was killed in Dubai last week. Ali, a 27-year-old labourer, was one of two Pakistanis killed in retaliatory Iranian strikes against Gulf countries since the start of US-Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic two weeks ago. Debris fell on his vehicle when a projectile was intercepted. “It is a great tragedy for a family whose sole breadwinner was lost,” said Malick, flanked by Ali’s three young children. “We have nothing to do with this war. It is unfortunate that the poor are being used as fuel for a conflict they have no part in,” he told AFP. Ali moved to Dubai from Jamshoro four years ago. Relatives offer prayers on the grave of Pakistani national Muzaffar Ali, who was killed in Dubai amid the ongoing Middle East war, after his funeral in Jamshoro in Sindh on March 12. — AFP Another victim, Murid Zaman, a 48-year-old father of five from Bannu, had been workin...
The crypto conference organizer said tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled April 2027 event, with holders also able to transfer tickets to the Singapore event. Update March 13, 10:56 am UTC: This article has been updated to add more information about the regional situation and additional details from the announcement. The Dubai edition of Token2049, one of the crypto industry’s largest global gatherings, has been postponed until 2027 due to regional uncertainty affecting international travel and event logistics. The organizers said on Friday that the conference, originally scheduled for April 29-30, in Dubai, will instead take place on April 21-22, 2027. Read more