UAE Makes Crypto History: Emirates Coin Nabs First SCA Virtual Asset License

Dubai’s financial regulators just handed crypto true legitimacy—or at least, the paperwork for it.

Emirates Coin Investment LLC scored the UAE’s first virtual asset license from the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), leapfrogging traditional finance’s usual foot-dragging. The move signals the Gulf’s accelerating embrace of digital assets—while Wall Street still debates whether Bitcoin belongs in a 401(k).

No token valuations or trading volumes disclosed (naturally), but the license grants full custody, exchange, and brokerage rights. Watch for a flood of copycat applications—nothing moves faster than money chasing regulatory approval.

One small step for compliance, one giant leap for crypto’s desert kingdom ambitions. Now, about those energy-guzzling mining farms...