European Crypto Firms Weigh Dubai Move as EU’s MiCA Deadline Nears
Summary
- As the deadline for the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework approaches, European crypto firms are actively considering relocating to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- Starting July 1, crypto firms that have not received MiCA authorization must halt services for EU customers.
- Dubai-based law firm NeosLegal is receiving more than 120 inquiries a week from companies and founders seeking to establish a presence in the UAE, and firms from Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the UK are also considering a move to the UAE.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
European crypto firms are increasingly considering relocating to the United Arab Emirates as the deadline for the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, framework approaches.
CoinDesk reported on June 30 that crypto firms without MiCA authorization will have to stop serving EU customers from July 1. Ahead of that deadline, Irina Heaver, a lawyer at Dubai-based law firm NeosLegal, said legal inquiries from European founders have surged.
"Questions from European founders have exploded," Heaver said. "They want to move themselves, their assets, their ideas and their intellectual capital to countries that welcome them."
NeosLegal is now receiving more than 120 inquiries a week from companies and founders seeking to establish operations in the UAE, she added.
About half of those inquiries come from Europe. They include firms from EU member states such as Spain, Italy and Germany, as well as companies from Switzerland and the UK, which are not subject to MiCA, that are also considering a move to the UAE.
Minseung Kang
minriver@bloomingbit.ioBlockchain journalist | Writer of Trade Now & Altcoin Now, must-read content for investors.