Dubai crypto regulator VARA details guidelines for virtual assets' marketing and advertising

Dubai’s regulator of virtual assets, the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), has announced the guidelines governing the marketing and promotions of digital assets.  
The guidelines cover all forms of outreach, communications and advertising, including online or off-line publication of information, awareness building, customer engagement, and investor solicitation, it said in a statement. 

These regulations were introduced ahead of operationalising the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) licences (a technique in which a new product is introduced in the market with basic features) so that any mass-market information/dissemination, and consumer solicitation are designed to safeguard community interests. 

“The guidelines require all Dubai licenced virtual asset service providers, including advertising platforms, to ensure factual accuracy, explicitly demonstrate any promotional intent, and in no way mislead on the guaranteed nature of their returns,” it added. 

Established in March 2022, VARA is reportedly the world’s only independent regulator for virtual assets that is tasked to provide a progressive framework. It enables borderless economic opportunity, without compromising market security, across the global virtual assets industry. 

Its principles are supplemented by rigid enforcement standards and penalties for non-compliance that collectively offer market confidence ahead of MVP operations, as it augments marketing, data protection and consumer protection laws that are already well embedded across the UAE. 

These regulations have been continuously refined to mitigate risks and make the entity an attractive space for home-grown, regional and international companies, the regulator said.