Dubai has emerged as the world’s single largest licensed Virtual Assets (VA) market, with year-to-date VA transaction volumes across regulated entities under the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA)of Dubai estimated at nearly AED2.5 trillion, further solidifying the emirate’s status as a leading global financial hub.

This landmark achievement stems from the forward-thinking vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to regulate the virtual assets market.

Three years ago, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid issued the law regulating virtual assets, a first of its kind, alongside directives for the establishment of the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to drive Dubai’s leadership in future economic and financial sectors.

These achievements were highlighted as His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Chairman of the Higher Committee for the Development of the Economic and Financial Sector in the emirate of Dubai, chaired a meeting of the committee.

During the meeting, His Highness Sheikh Maktoum approved the Dubai Financial Sector Strategy, a comprehensive roadmap designed to solidify Dubai’s position as a leading global financial hub, with key goals to double the financial sector’s contribution to the emirate’s GDP and grow the size of assets under management in Dubai.

The meeting discussed mechanisms for implementing the strategy through transformative projects, and the development of a robust economic measurement system in Dubai. The meeting also reviewed the executive plan for ARENA, the initial private offering platform launched by the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum reviewed DFM’s performance highlights in 2025 and plans by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to develop the sector.

Significant step

Sheikh Maktoum affirmed that the Dubai Financial Sector Strategy reflects the forward-looking vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The strategy aims to solidify Dubai's position at the forefront of the world's leading financial hubs, while furthering the sector's contribution to the emirate's economic growth and diversification.

His Highness said: “This strategy represents a major step for Dubai's financial sector. Plans to launch 15 transformative programmes over the next three years aim to establish an innovative and sustainable financial ecosystem. This will create promising opportunities for investors, bolster their confidence in Dubai's business environment, and advance our ambition to cement the emirate's status as the world's premier destination for financial services and one ofthe top 3 global financial hubs, in line with the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.”

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum also commended DFM’s achievements, calling for the continued development of the capital markets in accordance with the highest international standards to create an optimal environment for both local and international investors. He commended the pivotal role of Dubai's VARA in enhancing transparency and solidifying the emirate's standing as a global hub for virtual assets.

The meeting was attended by His Excellency Mohammad Al Gergawi, Vice Chairman of the Committee; His Excellency Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, His Excellency Helal Saeed Al Marri, His Excellency Essa Abdulfattah Kazim, His Excellency Faisal Yousef bin Sulaitin, His Excellency Fadel Abdulbaqi Al Ali, His Excellency Saeed AlEter, and Her Excellency Huda Sayed Naim Al Hashimi, Secretary General of the Committee.

15 transformative programmes

The Dubai Financial Sector Strategy will roll out 15 transformative programmes over the next three years to drive growth and shape the future of global finance. The projects will focus on critical areas including capital markets, asset and wealth management, SME financing, virtual assets, and FinTech.

The strategy aims to boost market activity by encouraging the listing of more family businesses and startups. Simultaneously, it will foster growth in the asset and wealth management sector by developing legislation and policies that attract new asset managers and family businesses.

The strategy also focuses on enhancing the role of small and medium enterprises in the national economy by developing innovative financing models that expand access to capital, ensuring the sustainability of SMEsand increasing their contribution to GDP.

The approval of the strategy comes as Dubai continues to strengthen its position as a leading global financial hub, ranking 11th worldwide in the latest Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) – up from 12th earlier this year and 16th last year. According to the Index, Dubai leads all global financial centres in future growth potential and is projected to gain most significantly over the next two to three years.

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum was updated on the significant progress made by VARA in establishing Dubai as a premier global hub for virtual assets and related services. VARA is focused on strengthening infrastructure and expanding the reach of the virtual assets ecosystem, while ensuring a secure, innovative environment for service providers and users alike.

Year-to-date VA transaction volumes across regulated entities under VARA surged to nearly AED2.5 trillion, reflecting the Authority’s impact. Meanwhile, assets under management exceeded AED9.6 billion in 2025, driven by the increasing participation of large institutional players.

The virtual assets sector today is estimated to contribute a conservative 0.5% to Dubai’s GDP, equivalent to approximately AED2.2 billion. Under the regulated VARA regime, the ecosystem is expected to scale responsibly and reach an estimated 3% GDP, reaching around AED13 billion.

Dubai currently hosts over 40 licensed virtual asset service providers (VASPs), making it the single largest licensed market of its kind globally. In addition to the licensed entities, there are more than 600 registered service providers engaged in advisory, technology, or proprietary trading activities that do not require full regulation.