The 11 August permission is narrow by design: arranging investment deals and custody. It does not give Coinbase an open-ended right to issue any tokenized security it chooses.

Under ADGM’s official digital-assets framework, a digital token with the characteristics of a security is regulated as a security. In Coinbase’s model, the tokens are backed by underlying shares. Eligible holders can receive the associated economic rights, including dividends, while voting rights depend on the terms of each prospectus.

Coinbase’s pitch is simpler: an investor could access these instruments through a wallet rather than the usual brokerage and correspondent-banking chain.

But on-chain does not mean outside compliance. ADGM’s framework still addresses financial crime, custody, market integrity and investor protection, while transfers remain subject to sanctions controls.

That is the important development for tokenization UAE: blockchain is being brought inside regulated capital markets rather than being allowed to operate beside them.

Under the 2024 rules, the DIFC prescribed company requirements were built around eligibility. A vehicle generally had to be controlled by a GCC Person, a DIFC Registered Person or a DFSA Authorised Firm. Alternatively, it could enter through a GCC Registrable Asset, one of five Qualifying Purposes, or the 2024 route involving a director employed by an approved Corporate Services Provider.

Those entry tests have now been removed. Applicants no longer need to demonstrate a particular nationality, domicile, asset location or pre-existing connection with the GCC. The five Qualifying Purposes: Aviation Structure, Crowdfunding Structure, Intellectual Property Structure, Maritime Structure and Structured Financing, also no longer determine whether an applicant may establish a Prescribed Company.

Access is broader, but administration is more controlled. Unless the company qualifies as an Exempt PC, it must appoint a Corporate Services Provider. The CSP is responsible for submitting filings and fees, maintaining accessible copies of statutory records and acting as the company’s principal interface with the DIFC Registrar of Companies. This is no longer an optional support arrangement, it is a statutory part of the regime.

The permitted holding scope has also been clarified. A Prescribed Company may hold assets for a Crowdfunding Structure, a Fund or a Family Office providing Family Office Services, subject to the applicable DFSA framework. However, it cannot itself act as a fund manager, trustee, general partner or regulated financial services provider unless properly authorised.

One restriction has become wider. The previous prohibition on employing staff now extends expressly to “any other form of workers”. The company must therefore remain a passive holding vehicle rather than becoming a lightly regulated operating business.

The eligibility filter did not vanish, it moved.

DFM reported AED 443.2 million in net profit before tax for H1 2026. Total consolidated revenue reached AED 557 million. Expenses excluding tax stood at AED 113.8 million. Revenue and profit were lower than in H1 2025, mainly because the earlier period included significant one-off income. Expenses increased slightly from AED 111.8 million.

Revenue included:

• AED 384.8 million in operating income
• AED 172.2 million from investment returns and other income

The breakdown matters. It helps investors separate normal operating income from investment-related earnings. It also shows why clear financial reporting and IFRS support is important.

Is DIFC a free zone? Yes, it is the region’s leading financial free zone, regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), with 10,018 active registered companies as of H1 2026 and its own common-law courts.

According to DIFC’s H1 2026 announcement, active registered companies reached 10,018 by 30 June 2026, up 30% organically over the past 12 months after 2,318 new firms joined. That is a sharp acceleration. Q1 2026 alone brought 775 new companies, a 62% year-on-year jump, on top of the 8,844 companies DIFC closed 2025 with.

Regulated financial services firms rose to 1,134 (+16%). AI, FinTech and innovation firms hit 1,933 (+39%), with 361 joining the DIFC Innovation Hub in H1 alone. Family-related entities climbed to 1,408 (+36%), and foundations to 1,409 (+67%). Dubai also climbed to 7th place on the Global Financial Centres Index – its highest-ever ranking, and a direct marker on the road to the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) goal of a top-four global financial centre by 2033.

The DIFC Courts published their statistics for January to June 2026. This is the first half-year report since the Courts launched their five-year Growth Strategy (2026–2030) in December 2025.

810 cases filed across all divisions, a 25% increase year-on-year, with a combined claim value of AED 10.02 billion (USD 2.73 billion). That’s up 48% from H1 2025. That is massive- significant enough to make the news.

This isn’t an isolated spike either. It builds directly on Q1 2026, when the Courts recorded 396 cases worth AED 3.5 billion – a 22% year-on-year rise on its own. H2 clearly accelerated the trend. The Courts frame this as an early signal that their strategy is working: more high-value disputes, more voluntary use of the Courts, and continued digital-first delivery.

For context, this sits alongside Dubai’s broader push under the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which aims to double the size of the emirate’s economy by 2033. A commercial court system that businesses trust enough to bring bigger, more complex disputes to is part of that infrastructure.

The ADGM commercial legislation amendments 2026 introduce a new transparency requirement under which the public register will indicate whether a shareholder or director is acting in a nominee capacity. Importantly, this does not make the identity of the underlying beneficial owner publicly available. Instead, it simply flags the existence of a nominee arrangement while the beneficial ownership information remains accessible only to the Registrar.

This marks a notable shift in how nominee arrangements are reflected within ADGM’s public corporate records. Previously, the public register listed a company’s directors and shareholders but did not indicate whether they were acting in a nominee capacity. The new rules introduce a nominee status flag, increasing transparency while keeping the identity of the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) confidential and accessible only to the Registrar.

For businesses using nominee shareholders or directors in legitimate holding or investment structures, the change highlights the need to review existing arrangements. Companies should ensure nominee appointments are properly documented and supported by accurate beneficial ownership records to remain compliant with the updated disclosure requirements.

The 2024–25 monitoring cycle covered a large part of the DIFC audit market. According to the DFSA, the regulator completed 26 inspections and reviewed 93 engagement files.

The level of audit activity was also high during the same period. Registered Auditors signed 1,267 financial statement auditors’ reports and 1,968 regulatory reports.

Professional development also increased. The report records 10,802 hours of continuing professional development, which was 17.7% higher than the previous cycle.

Taken together, these figures show a wider audit market, more regulatory work and stronger investment in professional training across the DIFC.

A liability letter tells the customer what they owe.

It sets out the outstanding balance, interest or profit, settlement figure and the amount required to clear or move the facility. For borrowers, it is not just another bank document. It is the paper that lets the next step happen.

Without it, things stop.

A loan settlement can be delayed. A refinancing offer can expire. A debt transfer can stall. In a property deal, one late letter can slow the full chain.

The rule itself is not new.

CBUAE Rulebook Article 7 requires banks to issue certificates and letters to retail customers within seven working days of receiving the request. The rule is linked to Regulation No. 29/2011 and Circular No. 13/189/2013.

The historic penalty was AED 10,000 per violation.

Now place that beside AED 1,820,000.

That is the story. The seven-working-day rule has existed for years. What has changed is the consequence of treating it as a loose operational target.

CBUAE has not published the calculation behind the penalty, and there is no need to guess it.

The direction is already clear.

The deadline was old. The enforcement temperature is new.