Dubai – Mubasher: The UAE is planning to introduce regulations for initial coin offering (ICO) by the end of the first half of 2019, the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) said.
The new service will provide businesses with a new, more secure option to raise capital through crowdfunding with the help of Blockchain technology, the state-run regulator said in a statement.
ICOs are used as security for capital for both small and medium businesses across the GCC country, allowing these businesses to issue cryptocurrency tokens to investors in the same way that shares are issued in initial public offerings (IPOs) of companies’ equities, the statement added.
“We have signed agreements with law firms to come up with the sandbox and rulebooks for the issuance of ICOs. Legal requirements will be finished by the end of the first half of 2019… then there will be adoption of technology and development of infrastructure on the side of the exchanges,” Obaid Al Zaabi, chief executive of SCA, said.
The SCA will develop trading platforms for ICOs in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).
“Our market is open. [ICO] registration and licensing is available for all kinds of companies, from across the world,” Al Zaabi added.
He also noted that cryptocurrency’s security is one of the main concerns for the SCA, expecting that Blockchain will increase transaction speeds and reduce overall financial costs while adding security and efficiency.
