The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) recognized two more tokens on November 2, adding XRP (XRP) and Toncoin (TON) to the list of recognized tokens. It joins Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC) as recognized coins in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC).
The new status of the tokens will allow financial institutions in the DIFC to carry out transactions with them. There are more than 4,000 companies located in the special economic zone. Ripple opened its MENA headquarters in the Dubai International Financial Center in 2020.
The company said in a statement that about 20% of Ripple’s customers are located in that region. Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, said:
“It is refreshing to see the DFSA encouraging the adoption and use of digital assets such as XRP to position Dubai as a leading financial services hub with the aim of attracting foreign investment and accelerating economic growth.”
The Dubai International Financial Center is regulated solely by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. It established regulations on cryptocurrencies in October 2021 and strengthened those regulations in November 2022. In late September, the Dubai International Financial Center announced a proposed law for digital assets. It also proposed repealing the 2005 Guarantees Law and the Financial Guarantees Regulations, and then adopting an updated Guarantees Law that includes the Guarantees Regulations as well.
The proposed Digital Assets Law defines “the legal characteristics of digital assets, the nature of their ownership, and how they can be controlled, transferred, and dealt with by interested parties.”
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The new security law will be based on the secured transactions model developed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, with amendments. These laws are in the consultation period until November 5th.
Dubai’s regulatory bodies have consistently demonstrated their pro-innovation approach, and this announcement is the latest example of that. @ripple We will continue to redouble our efforts in regions where there is regulatory clarity for cryptocurrencies – which is the main reason for hosting us #Ripple_Soil In Dubai this… https://t.co/PlIj7ubTcg
– Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) November 2, 2023
This comes on the heels of the Abu Dhabi Global Market’s approval of the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Foundations Regulations, which came into effect on November 1.
In Dubai, the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority was established in March 2022 and granted authority over all of the emirate and its free trade zones except for the Dubai International Financial Centre. The Emirate’s Virtual Assets Law was put in place at the same time.
Magazine: Crypto City: Dubai Guide