Crypto founders are increasingly weighing the United Arab Emirates as a base as the EU's MiCA regime reaches its July 1 deadline. A Dubai lawyer says her firm now fields more than 120 inquiries a week, about half from Europe, raising concerns about a brain drain.
Crypto companies are looking more closely at the United Arab Emirates as the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, or MiCA, approaches a July 1 deadline that will force firms without authorization to stop serving EU clients. Irina Heaver, a lawyer at NeosLegal in Dubai, said inquiries from European founders have surged as companies weigh the cost, timing and uncertainty of securing authorization in the bloc.
European founders look to the UAE
Heaver said her firm now receives more than 120 inquiries a week from companies and founders interested in setting up in the UAE. Around half come from Europe, including Spain, Italy and Germany, as well as Switzerland and the U.K., which sit outside MiCA's scope.
According to CoinDesk, Heaver said: "The inquiries from European founders skyrocketed." She traced the pickup to about 18 months ago, before MiCA's first rules took effect, with stablecoin rules applying roughly a year ago and a transition period running ahead of the July 1, 2026 cutoff.
The deadline reshapes the market
The deadline is already changing the competitive landscape. Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, withdrew its MiCA application in Greece last week and notified EU users it would suspend some services while seeking another regulatory route, saying it remains committed to Europe.
Rivals moved to capitalize. OKX and Coinbase announced bonuses of up to 8% of total deposits and transfers for new users the following day. Smaller firms may have less room to maneuver — OKX's Europe CEO Erald Ghoos said 80% of crypto companies would not survive MiCA and would be forced out of the EU.
A single rulebook, and a faster alternative
MiCA creates a single rulebook for crypto across the European Economic Area, a roughly 500 million-person market spanning the 27-nation EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. By contrast, Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority was built specifically for digital assets, which Heaver said lets companies set up in days rather than months.
A UAE license also opens access to markets across Asia, North Africa and the global south, representing about 4 billion potential customers. Heaver said she could see a brain drain from Europe, along with lost jobs and tax revenue, if founders relocate.
Source: CoinDesk
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