From https://coinpedia.org/news/uae-adoption-ico-regulations/

With the adoption of ICO regulations, the UAE is all set to join the ranks of top global financial markets regulators of crypto-assets.

With the proposed rules for initial coin offerings to be concluded by 2019, the UAE will join the ranks of top global financial markets. According to an expert, it will also be among the leading regional destinations for blockchain related businesses and investments.

UAE Joins A List Of Global Regulators With Standardise ICOs

The second largest economy, the UAE, will join the list of global regulators that have decided to standardize ICOs. Japan’s Financial Services Agency is screening cryptocurrency exchanges before registration. The New York State Department of Financial Services is also issuing BitLicence to companies who want to operate in virtual currencies.

Chief Executive of Libra Project in Abu Dhabi, Hans Fraikin, spoke about the advancement by the UAE. To him, the UAE is at the best position to be a global leader in the ICO space. In the area of tokenized startups with encrypted blockchain technology, the UAE has shown the most promise.

The fastest growing financial institutions are the Abu Dhabi Global Market and the Dubai International Financial Centre. They are both intentional about implementing crypto-exchange legislation in 2019. If their plans succeed as expected, they will be at the leaders of this new global securities sector, added Fraikin.

Regulations Settled

Excluding some areas like Malta and Gibraltar, other nations not settled. Most national regulators and jurisdictions are still trying to find out how to regulate the industry. UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), supervises and monitors the financial market. It has also approved ICOs as securities. It will also work with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market to develop trading platforms for ICOs in 2019.

Bad Run Of ICOs

A large number of ICOs launched in 2017 and 2018 are experiencing challenges, said Mr. Bonaceto. This could be explained by the downward price correction experienced in 2018. But, in some cases, it could have been prevented with better treasury management.

ICOs also provide a medium of crowdfunding to smaller businesses. This is different from internet-based platforms. According to the global rating agency for the cryptocurrency market, the sum of $3.3 billion (Dh12bn) raised through 412 projects. This was in the first quarter of 2018.