Dubai Clarifies Token Issuance Rules for Stablecoins, RWAs
Today in crypto, Dubai’s regulator issued new guidance placing token launches into three buckets, tightening disclosure and governance standards for stablecoins, RWAs and other digital assets, Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs and a pair of artists accused of copying Yuga’s NFT imagery for their own project have agreed to settle their lawsuit, and the US Treasury proposed a rule that would direct payment stablecoin issuers to establish AML/CFT and sanctions compliance programs.
Dubai clarifies token issuance rules for RWAs and stablecoins
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) published detailed guidance on Thursday that clarifies how token issuers should structure, disclose and distribute virtual assets in the emirate, sharpening rules for stablecoins and real-world asset (RWA) tokens.
The document, which interprets VARA’s existing Virtual Asset Issuance Rulebook rather than creating new law, sets out three distinct issuance pathways and spells out who is responsible for what in each.
Rather than treating all tokens as if they pose the same risks, the framework draws clear lines between Category 1 issuances (including fiat-referenced virtual assets and asset-referenced virtual assets), Category 2 issuances that must be distributed via a VARA-licensed intermediary, and exempt virtual assets with limited functionality.
VARA positions the regime as a purpose-built issuance framework calibrated to virtual assets, contrasting it with approaches that apply general securities or payments law to token launches, including fiat-referenced tokens (stablecoins) and asset-referenced tokens (RWA-style structures). The guidance also clarifies the role of licensed distributors in Category 2 issuances, making them responsible for due diligence and ongoing validation of compliance.
The clarification adds to Dubai’s push to build a bespoke crypto rulebook rather than forcing token launches into generic securities or payments law, and it comes just over a week after VARA expanded its exchange rulebook to cover exchange-traded crypto derivatives.
Yuga Labs settles lawsuit against artists accused of counterfeiting its NFTs
Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs and a pair of artists, who are accused of copying and profiting off lookalike NFTs, have agreed to settle their long-running lawsuit.
According to documents filed in the District Court for the Central District of California on Tuesday, Yuga Labs and artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen told the court they had reached a settlement agreement.
As part of the settlement, Ripps and Cahen are permanently banned from using Yuga Lab’s imagery and trademarks and will transfer control of the smart contracts, domains and any remaining NFTs associated with their RR/BAYC project to Yuga Labs within the next 10 days.
The court has also ordered the pair not to “transfer, assign, conceal, or otherwise dispose of any NFTs, domains, accounts, or other assets referenced in this Injunction, or cause any of the foregoing, for the purpose of avoiding or frustrating compliance.”
US Treasury moves forward with GENIUS Act, focusing on illicit finance
Payment stablecoin issuers in the United States will be required to implement a regime targeting illicit finance under the proposed framework for the GENIUS Act.
In a Wednesday notice, the US Treasury Department said its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had issued a joint proposed rule to implement provisions of the GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025.
The proposal would direct payment stablecoin issuers to establish and maintain an anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) program, maintain a sanctions compliance program, and have the ability to “block, freeze and reject” certain stablecoin transactions. Issuers would be treated as financial institutions for purposes of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).
“Bringing stablecoin issuers into full BSA/OFAC compliance effectively turns them into bank-like gatekeepers,” Snir Levi, CEO of blockchain intelligence firm Nominis, told Cointelegraph. “That means significantly more wallet freezes, transaction blocking and asset seizures at scale,” he said.
