In a joint statement, the UAE Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, the Securities and Commodities Authority, and the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority said golden visas are not provided just because individuals are in possession of digital assets.
This followed the blockchain attached to Telegram, The Open Network (TON), announcing a fresh deal. TON said individuals could receive a 10-year UAE golden visa after staking three years for $100,000 worth of Toncoin (TON) and paying a processing fee of $35,000. The visa process would be accomplished in under seven weeks with all the paperwork being taken care of by the UAE partners, TON said.
But the UAE authorities were firm that no such program is endorsed and holding or staking crypto is not enough for a golden visa.
“The authority further confirmed that digital currency investments are governed by specific regulations and are unrelated to golden visa eligibility. It urged investors to obtain information from credible, official sources to avoid misinformation or fraud,” the Emirates News Agency said.
The price of Toncoin surged more than 10% after TON formally released its golden visa program. The token was trading around $2.98, an increase of over 8% in 24 hours.
That said, when the government in the UAE denied that holders of cryptocurrencies can be eligible for golden visas, Toncoin’s price slipped 5% from $2.98 to roughly $2.83.
Toncoin remains down more than 60% in the past year, according to CoinMarketCap.
UAE aims to become a blockchain hub of the world
The UAE puts in a lot of effort to maintain its place and become a top destination for blockchain and crypto projects.
Ripple, the blockchain firm behind the cryptocurrency XRP, has had a new stablecoin approved by the regulator of a mega-financial hub in the UAE. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), which supervises the Dubai International Financial Centre, granted approval for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin just last month.
In May, Dubai’s crypto regulator updated its regulations to cover tokenization of real-world assets. For lawyers like Irina Heaver, these new regulations provide companies with a straightforward path to issue and trade real estate and similar assets via tokens.
