UAE Shakes Up Crypto Landscape: SCA’s Bold New Security & Commodity Token Rules Address Industry Demands

The UAE's Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) just dropped a regulatory bombshell—and crypto players are scrambling to adjust.

Game-changing clarity—or bureaucratic overreach?

Fresh guidelines on security and commodity tokens finally answer lingering questions from exchanges, issuers, and institutional investors. The move signals the Emirates' aggressive push to dominate MENA's digital asset space while traditional finance hubs dither.

Sandbox or straitjacket?

New compliance hurdles may weed out fly-by-night projects, but some founders whisper about innovation-stifling red tape. Meanwhile, Dubai's VARA watches closely—because nothing says 'healthy competition' like rival regulators playing turf wars with billion-dollar implications.

The bottom line:

When oil money meets blockchain, you get razor-sharp regulation... and at least three consulting firms charging $1,000/hour to 'interpret' the 87-page document. The crypto gold rush continues—just with more paperwork.

UAE SCA offers clarifications on tokens types and obligations

The UAE SCA defined security tokens and commodity contract tokens as digital representations of assets, such as companies, shares, and bonds, with the same investor protections and regulatory oversight as traditional securities. Examples offered by the UAE SCA during the consultation process included Gold tokens and oil tokens.

The regulation will offer consistent treatment for securities and commodities contracts irrespective of the technology used in their issuance and transmission.

The approach aims to address and mitigate any risks that may arise from the use of distributed ledger
technology, while maintaining the integrity and objectives of the regulatory regime. The regulation is technology agnostic as per the UAE SCA.

So as explained, whether the security or commodity derivative contract is issued on traditional paper form, electronic record or as a code on a DLT (distributed ledger technology), permissioned or permissionless, it will be subject to the same fundamental legal and regulatory requirements.

However, the distributed ledger must meet requirements such as the ability for it to be used to give the obligee, not the obligor, the power to dispose of its rights. Secondly, its integrity is ensured by adequate technical and organizational measures to protect it from unauthorized modification.

Finally, the content of the rights, the operation of the ledger and the registration agreement are recorded in the distributed ledger or in linked accompanying data, while obligees can view relevant information and ledger entries, and verify the integrity and accuracy of contents relating to them without third-party interference.

Security and commodity tokens can only be traded OTC through crypto wallets

The new securities and commodity token regulation also allows for the trading of such tokens, over the counter only, through digital wallets provided by a digital wallet service provider or through self custodial wallets which must be pre-authorized and included in the whitelist by the obligor or the market or the digital wallet service provider or the compliance middleware service provider.

As per UAE SCA, a digital wallet is a software application or other tool that is used to control, safeguard or manage public and private cryptographic keys (or their equivalent). On the other hand, a digital wallet service provider is a market or entity licensed to operate the alternative trading system that provides custody services for the security tokens or commodity contract tokens by controlling the public and private cryptographic keys.

Emirates Coin Investment could become the first to issue security and commodity tokens

In June, Emirates Coin Investment LLC (EmCoin), based out of Abu Dhabi UAE, announced that it had become the first UAE SCA-regulated integrated investment platform to offer crypto investments and traditional assets such as equities, commodities, and even ICOs.

EmCoin had noted that it WOULD be launching a cutting-edge investment platform that would bring together digital assets and traditional finance. Users would be able to trade virtual assets, invest in UAE and global equities, buy commodities, and access expert-managed portfolios with full transparency and trust.

The UAE has already embarked on the tokenization of real estate assets for investment purposes. PRYPCO Mint, the joint initiative between the Dubai Land Department (DLD) and PRYPCO licensed by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), has already listed and funded two tokenized properties in the UAE so far.

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