This is the first in a series of articles considering legal issues relating to bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain in the UAE. In this article we focus on the legal status of bitcoin and address the question of whether bitcoin is banned in the UAE. In part two we will consider the case for regulating bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and in part three we will consider legal issues relating to the adoption of blockchain technology by public and private entities in the
The virtual currency market has emerged in the United Arab Emirates with Dubai’s first Bitcoin ATM introduced in April 2014. Middle East entrepreneurs have begun launching Bitcoin payment products and SMEs are beginning to realise the potential of such technology, with The Pizza Guys becoming the first restaurant in the UAE to accept Bitcoin payments.
Virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, combine financial and technological instruments and incorporate characteristics of money, accounting, networks and remittances into one concept. As this