The Dubai Monetary Providers Authority (DFSA) has invited companies to precise curiosity in becoming a member of its Tokenization Regulatory Sandbox earlier than April 24, 2025.
In a March 17 announcement, the DFSA—an unbiased regulator overseeing the Dubai Worldwide Monetary Centre (DIFC)—said that the initiative targets companies seeking to supply tokenized funding services.
The sandbox offers a managed setting for testing tokenized monetary options below regulatory supervision.
This initiative comes as tokenization beneficial properties traction worldwide. Information from Rwa.xyz exhibits that the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market is valued at roughly $18.86 billion. The sector has seen over a 5% improve in customers prior to now month alone.
Who can take part?
The DFSA outlined that eligible companies embrace tokenized equities, bonds, sukuk, and collective funding fund items.
Each current DFSA-authorized companies seeking to increase into tokenization and new candidates that meet the mandatory necessities can apply.
Functions will probably be accepted from March 17 till April. As soon as submitted, companies will bear an evaluation course of. Profitable candidates will acquire entry to structured testing alternatives and tailor-made regulatory steering throughout the sandbox.
In accordance with the DFSA, solely companies with robust enterprise fashions and a stable grasp of regulatory compliance will probably be chosen.
The initiative falls below the regulator’s broader Innovation Testing License program, designed to assist firms refine monetary merchandise earlier than full authorization.
UAE’s pro-crypto strategy
The tokenization sandbox aligns with the UAE’s broader push to strengthen its place as a world chief in digital finance.
This month, the authorities permitted a cross-border cost license for Ripple, a crypto cost agency. The license makes Ripple the primary blockchain-based cost supplier to obtain regulatory clearance in Dubai’s monetary ecosystem.
Outdoors of Dubai, Abu Dhabi has additionally taken steps to combine stablecoins into its monetary system, incorporating Tether’s USDT for broader institutional use.
Furthermore, Coinbase and Chainlink have launched a joint initiative aimed toward increasing institutional crypto adoption within the area.