Quick Summary
Version 2.0 of VARA Rulebooks is introduced to provide consistency in all the regulations which are the basis of activity.
The transition period of 30 days expires on June 19, 2025; VASPs are supposed to be fully compliant.
The updates include the focus on managing risks, margin trading, and more transparent compliance.
The objectives of VARA are to decrease obscurity and simplify the cross-functional adherence.
Tighter measures to trade tokens and lock-ups on wallets.
The Crypto Regulator in Dubai Toughens Up Regulations
On May 19, 2025, Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) published the Version 2.0 of its Rulebooks. In an attempt to secure its presence in the emerging virtual asset industry, the regulative agency has implemented major changes that will enhance the integrity of the market, compliance conditions, and risk monitoring.
The framework has regulatory impact on many different virtual asset service providers (VASPs) that include those dealing in brokerage, custody, exchanges, lending and borrowing, investment and settlement services.
As a VARA spokesperson pointed out, the updates will bring cohesion across all the activity-based rules, expounding on the fundamental terms of operation, including client assets, qualified custodians, and collateral requirements.
Deadline: June 19, 2025
In order to be harmonious with the international regulatory trend, VARA has established a 30-day transition period and invitation to full completion by the end of June 19, 2025. The regulator considers that the time line has sufficient flexibility to enable a business to adjust to it to maintain market discipline.
Stricter Regulations over Margin Trading
Among the most notable changes is an update that is aimed at margin trading that is risky as it enables traders to make huge positions with small amounts of funds. VARA has:
- Enhanced leverage levels
- Officially required, more articulate standards of collateralization
- Hiking monitoring requirements of VASPs that provide margin trading
The VARA spokesman said that we have improved the required commitments to limit the risk of general liquidations in declining markets.
More Definite Standards and Consolidation of Standards
The latest rulebooks introduce uniformity in the compliance requirements of all licensed activities, providing clarification in the terminology like a collateral wallet arrangement and streamlining requirements of disclosure of risks.
Under VARA, there is a statement that all the emphasis is placed on suffocating ambiguity and ensuring that VASPs thread their way through cross-functional compliance expeditiously.
Final Thoughts
As the crypto market is rapidly changing, the approach Dubai put in place with VARA promises greater stability and transparency of the market. Version 2.0 update does not only change the policy, but it is also needed to achieve the long-term sustainability of the digital asset space.