Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has established its Metaverse HQ in the virtual world The Sandbox, UAE state news agency WAM reported.
As the world’s first regulator to make its debut in the Metaverse, VARA seeks to ensure that the regulator is accessible to its industry in their environment, and facilitate collaborative engagement between global virtual asset service providers (VASPs), industry thought-leaders, and international regulatory authorities.
“VARA represents a serious effort to build a new, powerful economic sector that contributes to the nation’s economy and creates new investment opportunities, and this is possible through the safe and modern regulatory solutions we envision,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.
VARA, established to provide a secure and progressive operating framework for the virtual asset sector to be able to scale, while assuring market and investor protection, expects to regulate the governing principles of the services and activities, rather than the continually-evolving products and underlying technologies. This bold move reflects Dubai Government’s confidence in Virtual Assets being integral to the future digital economy, and its readiness to establish the Emirate as the world’s Virtual Assets Capital.
Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General, Dubai World Trade Centre Authority, commented, “Dubai views the virtual asset industry as the driver of the global future economy. VARA has been established at a pivotal moment in response to the expansion of the Emirate’s incredibly sophisticated and modern legal framework regulating virtual asset activities. As the first niche regulator for the VA sector globally, VARA’s Metaverse HQ also makes the UAE the first jurisdiction to enter this platform, reflecting our leadership’s aspiration to facilitate a borderless new market enabling sustainable economic freedom.”
”VARA’s acquiring land in the Sandbox is symbolic of our belief in this sector, and the onus is on us as government to be the bridge that allows investors and consumers to safely adopt, and collaboratively scale the economy. In addition to yielding direct economic benefit and GDP acceleration for Dubai, the VARA sees this as the first step towards shared learning and expertise development across global regulators, so that the international community can benefit from a virtual economy that has been allowed to scale safely and sustainably.”
