How to obtain a Crypto license in DMCC (UAE)

Empire Global
3 min readJun 23, 2021

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DMCC or Dubai Multi Commodities Center is a government entity established in 2002 to enhance commodity trade flows through Dubai. It is the world’s fastest-growing Free Zone. Providers who wish to offer crypto-assets within the UAE must be licensed by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA). As a part of that process, applicants must demonstrate strict compliance with UAE’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, cybersecurity compliance standards, and data protection regulations.

Crypto License in UAE is becoming mainstream with more Free Zones allowing companies to indulge in Crypto trading, Crypto Asset handling, bitcoin trading, and related activities.

What are the requirements for obtaining a Crypto license in DMCC (UAE)?

  • Crypto Assets must be incorporated with UAE financial free zone departments.
  • Your capital resources and operational expenses must be visible for more than 6 to 12 months
  • No deceitful activities are allowed and clean records are required
  • Your information must be secured in a crypto wallet
  • Copies of valid passports of your business members
  • Commercial license form issued by DED

What is the process of obtaining a Crypto license in DMCC (UAE)?

To obtain a license, there are several steps to follow:

• Proof of sufficient capital to operate the business for at least 6 months successfully.

• A strict KYC Norm has to have adhered

• The investors must demonstrate strict compliance to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Laws of the UAE

• Disclosure to Value-Added-tax, Anti-Money laundering, and other Government authorities on request must be fulfilled

• Secured information of client’s financial information — safeguarding against cybersecurity

In Dubai, only the authorized Free Zones are eligible to issue the Cryptocurrency Licenses to investors.

How to obtain a Cryptocurrency License in UAE Free Zones?

Companies or investors intending to offer crypto-assets and related services in UAE must incorporate an onshore company in the authorized Free Zone complying with the Free Zone regulations and business setup process.

As an additional step, the investor or company must receive a pre-approval from the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA).

The investors must demonstrate strict compliance to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Laws of UAE.

Also, a level of Cyber Security and Data Protection has to be administered by the organization. ISO 9001:2015 Certification and ISO 27001:2013 Certification Standards help in achieving the desired level of compliance and cybersecurity.

There need to be strict IT policies on managing customer information and cryptocurrency details in local servers and cloud services as part of disaster recovery and backup options in case of any vulnerability detected in the system.

Also, a robust Service Level Agreement (LSA) must be signed with contracting company’s and employees who perform maintenance, and operations on the systems to protect data from sharing.

Time-frame for obtaining a license is within 4 weeks.

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Empire Global

Global Professional Consultancy Services Firm providing an array of specialized services to clients from all around the world. https://empireglobal.partners/