VARA Virtual Asset Issuance Rulebook (effective 19 June 2025), incl. FRVA and ARVA annexeschapter by chapter

Annex 1 Part I.B.2-6Annex 1 Part I.B FRVA approval

Issuers of Fiat-Referenced Virtual Assets must obtain VARA approval before issuance, may face conditions, cannot claim AED stability, and may only be used to trade within the virtual asset ecosystem.

Annex 1 Part II.B.1-3Annex 1 Part II.B FRVA ongoing disclosure

Issuers of Fiat-Referenced Virtual Assets must disclose monthly on their website the tokens in circulation, audited reserve asset value and composition, and whether the token is fully backed, and promptly disclose significant market-affecting events.

Annex 1 Part III.A.1-B.7Annex 1 Part III.A-B FRVA stable backing and Reserve Assets

FRVA must be backed 100% by cash or highly liquid reserve assets, with supply changes matched and assets legally segregated and not rehypothecated.

Annex 1 Part III.C.1-4Annex 1 Part III.C FRVA redemptions

Holders must be entitled to redeem at par with valid requests processed within one working day and no redemption fees applied.

Annex 1 Part III.D.1-2Annex 1 Part III.D FRVA audit and attestation

Virtual asset issuers must commission monthly independent audits of their fiat-referenced virtual assets and reserve assets, and senior management must submit each audit attestation to VARA promptly.

Annex 1 Part III.E.1-2Annex 1 Part III.E FRVA marketing

Licensed issuers may use stable-value language in marketing FRVAs, which must clarify redemption rights and lack of investor protection.

Annex 1 Part III.F.1Annex 1 Part III.F FRVA capital

FRVA issuers must at all times maintain Paid-Up Capital equal to AED 1,500,000 plus two percent of the value of the FRVA's available supply.

Annex 2 Part I.B.2-4Annex 2 Part I.B ARVA approval

Each ARVA must receive prior VARA approval, and VARA may impose or disapply conditions, including segregation and approvals for activities involving underlying RWA or reserve assets.

Annex 2 Part II.B.1-2Annex 2 Part II.B ARVA ongoing disclosure

Issuers must publish monthly reports on the number and value of ARVAs in circulation and details about Reserve Assets, clarifying backing status.

Annex 2 Part III.B.1-C.5Annex 2 Part III.B-C ARVA ownership and Reserve Assets

ARVA ownership rights over reference assets must be legally established and transferred with the ARVA; reserve assets must be custodied, segregated, not rehypothecated, and redeemable, with conflicts disclosed.

Annex 2 Part III.D.1-3Annex 2 Part III.D ARVA audit

The issuer must appoint an independent auditor and notify VARA, commission six-monthly audits of ARVAs and Reserve Assets, annual financial statement audits, and Senior Management must attest to each audit.

Annex 2 Part III.E.1-5Annex 2 Part III.E ARVA redemptions

Holders with redemption rights must be able to redeem at equal value, against the VASP or Reserve Assets if unpaid, within reasonable time and without fees.

Annex 2 Part III.F.1-2Annex 2 Part III.F ARVA marketing

Only issuers licensed for an ARVA referencing one RWA may use stablecoin terms; marketing must state ARVAs lack investor protection or deposit guarantee cover.

Annex 2 Part III.G.1Annex 2 Part III.G ARVA capital

ARVA issuers must hold paid-up capital of at least the higher of AED 1,500,000 and 2% of average reserve asset market value over the preceding 24 months.

Part I.A.1-3Part I.A General requirement

Entities issuing Virtual Assets must comply with the Issuance Rulebook, which VARA monitors for adherence.

Part I.B.1Part I.B Prohibited Virtual Assets

Issuing anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies and all virtual asset activity relating to them is prohibited in the Emirate.

Part I.C.1-3Part I.C Issuance categories

Category 1 virtual asset issuances require a VARA licence, Category 2 issuances need no licence but must use a licensed distributor, exempt VAs have no prior requirement, and category changes must satisfy new category requirements first.

Part I.D.1-6Part I.D Category 1 licensing

No entity may carry out Category 1 virtual asset issuance without a VARA licence, and must comply with VARA company, compliance, technology and market conduct rulebooks.

Part I.D.7-8Part I.D.7 Licence revocation triggers

VARA may revoke a Category 1 Licence for grounds such as non-issuance within six months, false statements, breached conditions or insolvency; entities must notify VARA immediately.

Part I.E.1-5Part I.E Category 2 issuance

Category 2 virtual assets may be issued without prior VARA approval only if a Licensed Distributor handles all placement and distribution and validates issuer compliance.

Part I.F.1-2Part I.F Exempt VAs

Exempt Virtual Assets may be issued without prior VARA approval if general rules are continuously met, while issuers remain subject to VARA supervision, examination and enforcement.

Part II.1.a-fPart II General rules

Issuers must act with integrity, fairness, diligence, adequate resources, timely disclosure, legal compliance including consumer protection, and environmental responsibility, disclosing climate-related risks.

Part III.A.1-2Part III.A Whitepaper and Risk Disclosure Statement

Every virtual asset issuer must publish a whitepaper and risk disclosure statement, except issuers of exempt virtual assets.

Part III.B.1-4 Whitepaper publication

Issuers must publish a machine-readable Whitepaper in one accessible location before any public offer or marketing of a virtual asset, and cannot exclude civil liability for its content; Category 1 issuers add annex disclosures.

Part III.B.5-7 Whitepaper updates and versions

Virtual asset issuers must keep Whitepapers accurate and complete, notify holders of changes before they take effect except security-driven changes, date updates, keep prior versions accessible, and retain all versions for eight years after circulation ends.

Part III.C.1-3Part III.C Risk Disclosure Statements

Issuers of virtual assets must publish an accurate, complete, non-technical Risk Disclosure Statement in machine-readable form alongside the Whitepaper, with update dates, prior versions kept accessible, and records retained eight years.

Part IV.1-4Part IV Supervision and access

VARA can require suspension of issuance and access to records, ensuring compliance with regulations in other jurisdictions.

Part III.B.7; Part III.C.3-retRecord Retention — Whitepaper and Risk Disclosure Statement versions

Records of whitepaper and risk disclosure statement versions must be retained for eight years from the date the virtual asset ceases to be in circulation.