Crypto companies eye UAE as MiCA deadline approaches in EU

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Eugene Komchuk

1 hour ago

Crypto companies eye UAE as MiCA deadline approaches in EU — Crypto companies flee MiCA

Cryptocurrency companies are increasingly considering the United Arab Emirates as an alternative jurisdiction as the MiCA deadline approaches in the European Union. After July 1, companies that have not received the required authorization will have to stop serving EU clients.

Irina Heaver, a lawyer at NeosLegal in Dubai, said the number of inquiries from European founders has surged. According to her, companies are assessing the cost, timing and uncertainty of obtaining authorization in the EU, CoinDesk reported.

“Inquiries from European founders have skyrocketed. They want to move themselves, their capital, their ideas and their intellectual potential to a country that welcomes them,” Heaver said.

According to her, NeosLegal now receives more than 120 inquiries a week from companies and founders that want to set up a business in the UAE. Around half of the requests come from Europe, including Spain, Italy and Germany, as well as Switzerland and the U.K., which are not covered by MiCA.

Interest began to rise around 18 months ago, even before the first MiCA rules came into force. Stablecoin rules began to apply about a year ago, while crypto-asset service providers have been going through a transition period ahead of the July 1, 2026, deadline. After that date, companies operating under old national regimes will no longer be able to provide MiCA-regulated services in the EU.

According to Heaver, the UAE is attracting entrepreneurs who are tired of bureaucracy and regulatory pressure in Europe.

“These are not random people. They are former or current founders, people with several successful exits, people with years of experience in the crypto industry,” she noted.

The MiCA deadline is already changing the competitive landscape. Last week, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, withdrew its MiCA license application in Greece and notified EU users that it would suspend some services while looking for another regulatory path. At the same time, the company said it remains committed to the European market.

“Our ambitions in Europe have not changed, and we are confident that we will receive a MiCA license in the coming months,” Binance said.

Competitors are trying to take advantage of the situation. The following day, OKX and Coinbase announced bonuses of up to 8% of total deposits and transfers for new users.

Why crypto companies choose the UAE

Smaller companies may find it harder to adapt. Erald Ghoos, OKX’s CEO in Europe, said 80% of crypto companies would not survive MiCA and would be forced to leave the EU.

Heaver believes Europe risks facing an outflow of talent, capital and jobs.

“I can see the risk of a brain drain, a tax drain and job losses. If a founder with several successful projects moves to the UAE, they create new jobs and opportunities there. It seems to me that Europe missed this chance,” she said.

MiCA creates a single rulebook for the crypto market in the European Economic Area. This market covers about 500 million people and includes the 27 EU countries, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

According to Heaver, many founders find the UAE attractive because its local regulatory system was built specifically for digital assets. In Dubai, the industry is overseen by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), while many European regulators also supervise banks and traditional financial institutions.

This difference affects the speed of launching a business. In the UAE, a company can be registered in days rather than months, helping founders bring products to market faster. A UAE license also opens access to markets in Asia, North Africa and the Global South, where there may be around 4 billion potential clients in total.

Heaver also questioned whether traditional financial institutions had too much influence over the development of MiCA.

What other countries may attract crypto nomads

The UAE is not the only destination that crypto companies and founders may consider after tighter rules in Europe. Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland are often named among possible alternatives. Singapore already has licensed companies for digital payment token services, Hong Kong keeps separate lists of licensed virtual asset platforms, and Switzerland has created a legal framework for tokenized assets and DLT platforms.

But for “crypto nomads,” the choice of country depends not only on taxes. The speed of business registration, clear requirements, access to banks, regulators’ attitude and the ability to work with international clients also matter. That is why some entrepreneurs may choose not the softest jurisdiction, but one where the rules are already clear and launching a product does not turn into a months-long dispute with the regulator.

As a reminder, the UAE royal family has created one of the largest private Bitcoin reserves.

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