Initial Coin Offering Services 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

Manages the structuring, whitepaper preparation, and investor distribution process for initial coin offerings of new tokens.

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

"Initial Coin Offering Services" is the most historically loaded naming in this dataset's seven-code issuance cluster — ICOs as a fundraising mechanism attracted heavy global regulatory scrutiny in 2017-2018 for good reason (widespread fraud and unregistered securities offerings), and VARA's framework for VA Issuance reflects lessons from that era: disclosure requirements, marketing restrictions, and investor-suitability checks that a casual "just launch a token" approach won't satisfy.

Same underlying VARA Issuance category as Digital Token Issuance, Security Token Offering, Token Issuance, VA Issuance Category-1/2, and Virtual Asset Issuance elsewhere in this dataset.

Dubai-only in practice; 100% foreign ownership applies.

Available in: . A detailed per-emirate fee breakdown isn't published for this activity yet — check back soon, or get a scored recommendation for your specific business below.

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