The Dubai-based virtual assets regulator, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), has opened its headquarters in the metaconset in the virtual world of The Sandbox. By establishing its presence in the metaworld, the regulator said it hopes to make itself accessible to all interested parties.
The world’s “virtual asset capital”
Dubai’s digital asset regulator, the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), has established its headquarters in the virtual world of The Sandbox, the regulator said in a statement. According to the regulator, the goal of establishing its headquarters in the metaverse is to ensure that VARA is “accessible to its industry in their environment.”
VARA is also expected to help facilitate interaction between virtual asset service providers (VASPs), industry influencers and global regulators. According to the statement, by taking this step, Dubai’s regulator is signaling a willingness to make the emirate “the virtual asset capital of the world.”
Maintaining Dubai’s leadership
In his speech following the announcement , Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, said:
“Dubai maintains its leadership position at the forefront of technological transformation. We have surpassed our role as an early adopter and become an innovator and participant in shaping the future of this technology. Today, VARA joins the meta-universe and becomes the first government agency of Dubai and the meta-universe, ushering in a new era in which [the government] of Dubai uses modern innovation to extend its services and regulatory powers to audiences in an open technology space, without limits or boundaries.”
Sheikh Hamdan added that by creating a meta-universe headquarters, VARA has created a decentralized regulatory model that allows stakeholders to share or exchange knowledge and solve problems collectively.
Helal Saeed Almarri, CEO of the Dubai World Trade Center Authority, said: “As the first niche regulator for the VA [virtual asset] sector in the world, the VARA Metaverse headquarters also makes the UAE the first jurisdiction to enter this platform, reflecting our leadership’s commitment to helping create a new borderless market that provides sustainable economic freedom.”
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