On 1 January 2026, the UAE’s federal securities regulator changed: the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) was reconstituted as the Capital Market Authority (CMA) under Federal Decree-Laws No. 32 and 33 of 2025 — with a mandate that now expressly extends to digital assets and tokenised securities. If your activities touch UAE federal securities, financial-services or token regulation, we help you understand exactly where you stand and what to do about it.
Who this is for
Businesses whose products or activities may fall under UAE federal (onshore) regulation — securities offerings, promotions to UAE investors, tokenised instruments, trading platforms and intermediaries operating outside the financial free zones.
What we do
- Analyse whether your product or activity falls within the CMA’s regulatory perimeter — including grandfathered SCA positions.
- Advise on offerings and promotions into the UAE: what you can market, to whom, and how.
- Assess how the CMA framework treats tokenised securities and digital assets — a fast-moving area we track closely.
- Prepare and support licence applications and regulatory submissions to the CMA.
- Coordinate the federal position with VARA, ADGM, DIFC and CBUAE requirements where your model spans regimes.
Why the SCA-to-CMA change matters
This was more than a rebrand. The new framework modernises the UAE’s capital-markets architecture and brings digital assets and tokenised instruments squarely within the federal regulator’s remit. Existing SCA licences and approvals transferred automatically — but the rules underneath them are evolving, and businesses that assumed they sat outside the perimeter may want to look again.
Frequently asked questions
Is the CMA the same as the old SCA?
The CMA is the SCA’s successor, established with effect from 1 January 2026. Existing SCA licences and registrations transferred automatically, but the CMA operates under new decree-laws with an expanded mandate — including digital assets and tokenised securities.
My token is traded internationally. Does UAE federal regulation affect me?
It can — particularly if you promote to UAE investors or operate onshore. Whether the CMA, a free-zone regulator or no UAE regulator applies depends on the specifics. A perimeter analysis answers this before it becomes a problem.
How does the CMA interact with VARA, ADGM and DIFC?
They regulate different spaces: the CMA at federal/onshore level, VARA for virtual assets in Dubai outside the DIFC, and the FSRA and DFSA within their respective free zones. Many business models touch more than one — we map the full picture.