VA Issuance Category-1 License UAE

ISIC classification: Other financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding activities, n.e.c. (6499)

Typically requires Designated Zone status for VAT purposes

About this activity

Issues a defined category of virtual assets under VARA’s issuance framework, covering token design, disclosure, and investor distribution.

Regulatory requirements

Requires external approval — Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) (Dubai) / Securities & Commodities Authority (SCA) (other Emirates) & Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)

100% foreign ownershipYes

Facility requirementLicensed VARA/SCA-Compliant Office with Cybersecurity & Risk Controls

Market Analysis

"VA Issuance Category-1" matches VARA's own official sub-category naming exactly — VARA formally splits issuance into Category 1 and Category 2 based on risk/complexity, making this and its sibling code ("VA Issuance Category-2," also in this dataset) the two most authoritative entries in this dataset's seven-code issuance cluster.

Category 1 generally covers straightforward utility-token issuances; the underlying application-fee and review process still centers on disclosure documentation, marketing-material review, and issuer fit-and-proper checks rather than a flat continuous-supervision fee.

Dubai-only in practice; 100% foreign ownership applies. Given the direct match to VARA's own terminology, this and VA Issuance Category-2 are strong candidates for the canonical entries in this cluster, with Digital Token Issuance, Initial Coin Offering Services, Security Token Offering, Token Issuance, and Virtual Asset Issuance flagged as DED naming variants pointing back to these two.

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