Dubai Financial Regulator Shifts Crypto Token Responsibility to Firms in DIFC

Key Takeaways

• Firm-Led Token Assessments: The DFSA has shifted responsibility for Crypto Token suitability from the regulator to firms, requiring documented, reasoned assessments for each token.
• Recognised Token List Ends: The DFSA will no longer publish or maintain a list of Recognised Crypto Tokens, increasing accountability at the firm level.
• Stronger Safeguards, Proportionate Oversight: The updated framework introduces enhanced investor protections alongside refined conduct, operational, and reporting requirements.
• Regulatory Evolution Since 2022: The changes reflect three years of supervisory experience, market monitoring, and engagement with industry and international regulators.
• Clearer Path for Market Participants: The revised rules aim to provide greater clarity for firms involved in trading, asset management, custody, advisory, and other Crypto Token-related services in DIFC.

Deep Dive

The Dubai Financial Services Authority has brought a revised Crypto Token regulatory framework into force in the Dubai International Financial Centre, marking the most significant update to its digital assets regime since it was first introduced in 2022.

The changes, which follow a public consultation launched in October 2025, reflect how the DFSA’s thinking on crypto regulation has evolved over the past three years. During that period, the regulator says it has closely tracked market developments, engaged with industry participants, and worked alongside other regulators to ensure its rules remain credible, globally aligned, and workable in practice.

At the center of the update is a clear recalibration of responsibility. Under the new framework, firms providing financial services involving Crypto Tokens must now decide for themselves whether a token meets the DFSA’s suitability criteria. Those assessments must be reasoned, documented, and defensible. The DFSA will no longer carry out its own suitability reviews or publish a list of Recognised Crypto Tokens.

The move shifts accountability firmly onto firms, while giving them greater flexibility as the digital assets market continues to change. It also signals a departure from a more centralized approval model toward one that mirrors how responsibility is allocated in other regulated financial activities.

Alongside the change in token assessments, the updated framework introduces strengthened investor protections, refined conduct and operational requirements, and reporting obligations that the DFSA says are more proportionate to today’s digital assets market. Together, the authority says, the changes are intended to reinforce market integrity without stifling innovation.

Charlotte Robins, Managing Director of Policy and Legal at the DFSA, described the revisions as a response to both market feedback and the rapid evolution of digital assets.

“The DFSA’s enhancements to the Crypto Token regime reflect our progressive stance on innovation and proactive response to market developments and feedback,” Robins said. “These updated rules provide firms with greater clarity and flexibility, and ensure that our regulatory crypto token regime remains aligned with international best practice. As digital assets continue to evolve, our objective remains clear – to maintain a transparent, and predictable regulatory framework that safeguards market integrity and enables sustainable and responsible market development in DIFC.”

For firms already operating in the DIFC, or those considering entry, the updated regime is designed to offer a clearer route for a wide range of Crypto Token-related activities. These include trading, fund and asset management, custody, advisory services, and other regulated financial services tied to digital assets.

To help firms navigate the changes, the DFSA will host a digital assets webinar on 27 January 2026. The session will walk through the regulator’s approach to Crypto Tokens, how the framework has developed since its launch, and how the wider DIFC ecosystem supports responsible innovation in the sector. The webinar is aimed at both existing market participants and firms exploring whether to establish or expand digital asset operations in the DIFC.

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