Dubai’s VARA becomes world’s first regulating body in Metaverse

With the opening of its Metaverse HQ in the dynamic virtual world of ‘The Sandbox,’ Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) announced its entry into the Metaverse this Tuesday.

VARA was created to provide a scalable operating framework for the virtual asset industry while also protecting market participants and investors. It intends to control the guiding principles that govern services and activities, rather than specific items and technologies.

VARA says it aims to ensure that the regulator is readily available to its industry in their environment, as well as enable community-oriented engagement between global Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), Industry Thought-Leaders, and International Regulatory Authorities, as the world’s first regulator to make its debut in the Metaverse. It connects private sector game-changers, inventors, and market makers spanning ICT, Financial and Professional services, Lifestyle, Entertainment, and FMCG outside the world of gaming and VASPs to promote economic freedom in the Metaverse.

VARA MetaHQ will be its primary channel for engaging VASPs around the world in order to initiate applications, allow younger licensees to enter the metaverse, and openly share knowledge and experiences with consumers and peer regulators in order to raise awareness, enable safe adoption, and drive global interoperability.

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, spoke at the opening of the VARA MetaHQ on the Sandbox, saying,

“Dubai maintains a leading position at the forefront of technological transformation. We have exceeded the role of an early adopter to become an innovator and participant in shaping the future of this technology. Today, VARA joins the Metaverse to become Dubai’s – and the Metaverse’s – first government authority, ushering in a new era in which Dubai Government utilizes modern innovations to extend its services and regulatory power to audiences in an open technological expanse, without constraints or borders. VARA represents a serious effort to build a new, powerful economic sector that contributes to the nation’s economy and creates new investment opportunities, and this is possible through the safe and modern regulatory solutions we envision. Our presence in the Metaverse, therefore, marks the beginning of a new phase in the Dubai Government’s march for the future; one that will have a positive impact in the long run.”