In this news:
Dubai plans to ask licensed virtual asset issuers and service providers to disclose the names of crypto whales to protect consumers as the city in the United Arab Emirates vies to become a global hub for the burgeoning sector.
If the majority of tokens are owned by its creator or an institution, their names should be disclosed, Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority chief executive Matthew White told The Standard.
This will help investors know more about the products as most tokens are not owned by their creators but by third parties like venture capitalists, he said.
However, VARA would not necessarily ask for specific people to be named, White said.
Most cryptocurrency holders including those who own bitcoins use pseudonymous which means transactions are tied to wallet addresses rather than real names.
This adds to the challenge of tracing scammers and money launderers in the real world.
In 2024, losses from crypto scams jumped nearly 40 percent from the previous year to at least US$9.9 billion (HK$77.22 billion) and could climb further to a record US$12.4 billion if more data were available, blockchain research firm Chainalysis says.
White believes disclosures of major holders can be achieved as virtual assets are created and stored on the blockchain, a decentralized and immutable ledger of all transitions shared across a peer-to-peer network.
VARA is also looking at mandating issuers and service providers to unveil the composition and auditing of the reserves and clearly define redemption mechanisms, offering investors a "clear description of risks."
The new requirements are a part of the regulator's plans for the first quarter of the year, with most of them already under way, he said.
White also said the regulator is open to the possibility of working with Hong Kong, though it has nothing specific in mind as of now.
.png)
