The UAE-based ADGM Registration Authority (“RA”) has published Discussion Paper No. 1 of 2026, seeking stakeholder feedback on draft guidance regarding virtual currency mining activities conducted within or from ADGM.
According to the announcement, the proposal aims to provide regulatory clarity as well as responsible innovation and governance standards regarding crypto mining.
In a discussion paper, ADGM defines cryptocurrency mining as validating transactions on a distributed ledger or infrastructure network in exchange for reward in the form of digital assets generated by a consensus mechanism. Financial Freezone takes a technology-neutral approach to its framework and accepts all types of blockchain, including proof-of-work, proof-of-stake, and more.
Licenses for virtual currency mining entities are not provided under the FSRA regulator, but rather as a financial service and under a commercial license by the Registrar. However, all cryptocurrency entities must also comply with UAE federal laws that are already in place.
The framework also includes clear governance expectations, such as beneficial ownership disclosure, operational integrity, and risk-based oversight tailored to the size and complexity of mining operations.
A new concept introduced by ADGM is global monitoring, which allows crypto mining entities registered with ADGM to monitor and control crypto mining operations overseas as well.
ADGM is seeking responses from entities, technology vendors, auditors, and other relevant industry participants that engage in or plan to engage in cryptocurrency mining activities. Feedback required by March 20, 2026.
ADGM wants to establish a framework for crypto mining as it can pose risks in areas such as operational resiliency, cybersecurity, transparency of ownership and control, facility health and safety, and cross-border surveillance.
“This is an important step towards regulatory certainty for entities involved in cryptocurrency mining, whether operating locally, establishing a regional headquarters, or managing ADGM’s global mining portfolio,” Dmitry Fedotov, head of emerging technologies at ADGM, said on LinkedIn.
He added that the areas in which feedback is particularly sought are the clarity of licensing requirements, the assessment, the proportionality of proposed license terms, the adequacy of on-chain address disclosure expectations, the adequacy of supervisory tools, including potential SupTech integration, and expectations for ADGM’s headquartered organization that oversees global mining operations.
The last one addresses a real gap, Fedetov said, as mining operations increasingly span multiple jurisdictions. “There is value in establishing clear expectations for how the home company will conduct oversight, perform due diligence on jurisdictions, and apply consistent governance standards across its global footprint,” he explains.
A small number of cryptocurrency mining companies operate in the UAE
The UAE already has several crypto mining entities operating out of the country.
The two main well-known companies are Phoenix, the UAE’s first cryptocurrency mining entity, which held an IPO and listed on the Abu Dhabi Exchange, and Marathon Digital, which established Abu Dhabi in 2023 by signing a shareholder agreement with FSI (FS Innovation), the BTC mining subsidiary of the sovereign fund UAE ADQ.
Additionally, in 2024, Hut 8, an energy infrastructure platform that integrates power, digital infrastructure, and large-scale computing to power next-generation energy-intensive use cases such as Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing, was registered to open an office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
