The United Arab Emirates announced its plans to make initial coin offerings legitimate funding options for local businesses.
Reuters reported that the new rule is to be introduced some time in 2019, allowing ICOs to “replace” IPOs, if companies decide to do so. The new rule means that ICOs will be equal in “weight” and value when it comes to corporate fundraising.
“The board of the Emirates Securities & Commodities Authority has approved considering ICOs as securities. As per our plan we should have regulations on the ground in the first half of 2019.”
The new plan has been launched already, as draft books are now being prepared for the trading market and listing options.
The major reason for introducing the ICO as a fully-fledged corporate funding option is the fact that IPOs have been lagging behind in a stagnating IPO market with low oil prices and not so active equities market.
If the new plan is introduced, then the United Arab Emirates will be one of the very few countries in the world to have introduced and implemented a stable regulatory framework for initial coin offerings and digital coins.