Dubai Grants First Virtual Asset License to Singaporean Web3 Firm

The Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) has granted Calvin Cheng Web3 Holdings FZE a provisional Virtual Asset License. Calvin Cheng is a Singaporean investor and entrepreneur.

Notably, Cheng recently established an NFT and fan token investment holding company in Dubai. The business magnate is also a former Member of Parliament in Singapore. Cheng had applied to obtain the license to operate in a regulated ecosystem.

Established in March 2022, VARA is the world’s first specialized regulator for virtual assets. It is expected to play a major role in creating new opportunities in the virtual asset industry in Dubai. Under the VARA’s supervision, all business services will be subject to thorough regulatory oversight, and end-to-end mandatory Financial Action Task Force (FATF) compliance controls.

VARA noted, “Calvin Cheng Web3 Holdings FZE will be the first international business to actively seek regulation, despite being able to operate lawfully in many other qualifying global jurisdictions. Such appreciation of the need for strong governance in order for the sector to mature and safely scale reflects credible intent of purpose and sound reputation of Mr. Cheng, which has supported our consideration for this company to participate in Dubai’s MVP programme.”

Calvin Cheng remarked that Dubai was fast positioning itself as the leading Virtual Assets Hub in the world. He added that the digital assets space was a new field that needed progressive regulators to keep up with entrepreneurs’ focus on innovation and growth.

We are proud to be the first NFT VASP to enter this regulated ecosystem as our commitment to support strong guard rails for the crypto industry to safely grow. A new and forward-thinking regulator like VARA is well-positioned to firmly establish Dubai as the leading global center for digital assets.