UAE government plans to allow companies and start-ups to accumulate funds through the initial offer of coins (ICO). You can find out more what ICO is here.
Domestic enterprises will be able to attract funding using cryptocurrency. But they will receive such a right no earlier than in 2019.
New business opportunities are opening up thanks to a bill that equalizes the statuses and legal regulation of ICO and IPO (initial public offering). This bill will come into force in 2019 and will define cryptocurrency as securities.
The Board of Securities and Commodity Authority (ESCA) has already approved new investment rules in the country. During the first half of 2019, it is planned to complete the formation of the regulatory framework for ICO performance by UAE resident companies. For this, independent advisors and experts whose names were not disclosed were brought in.
For the Emirates, working on ICO rules is not new. About a year ago, a guide on cryptocurrencies and the initial offer of coins was issued in Abu Dhabi. It was in it that the crypto was first equated with securities.
This step is largely dictated by the need to attract new investment to the country. The Emirates painfully perceive a drop in oil prices. IPOs do not allow for accumulating funds necessary for the further development of local enterprises. Cryptocurrency should make the UAE economy less dependent on fluctuations in the price of black gold.
