The post UAE Enacts New Law Effectively Banning Bitcoin Tools and Self-Custody Wallets appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

The UAE has banned Bitcoin under a new Central Bank law published in the Official Gazette and effective September 16. Despite headlines calling the law a “Bitcoin ban,” the law does not prohibit individuals from owning Bitcoin or using private wallets for personal use. The United Arab Emirates has enacted Federal Decree‑Law No. 6 of 2025, effective September 16, significantly expanding the Central Bank’s oversight of digital asset infrastructure. Replacing the 2018 banking statute, the law introduces new licensing requirements covering a broad range of crypto-related tools and services. Millom Ohtamaa, co-founder of Trading Protocol, posted on X stating: “I have bad news for all crypto habibis in Dubai, it’s real.” Under Article 62, the Central Bank is now empowered to regulate not only traditional financial firms but also technology providers, such as self-custodial wallets, blockchain explorers, analytics platforms, APIs, and decentralized protocols, that “engage in, offer, issue, or facilitate” financial activity. In Ohtamaa’s post, he claimed that simply promoting or advertising unlicensed crypto services, including via websites, social media, or email, can be classified as a regulated financial activity. The law introduces severe punishments for non-compliance. Under Article 170, unlicensed financial activity, including facilitation through technology, can lead to imprisonment and fines ranging from AED 50,000 to AED 500 million, roughly up to US$136 million. Over the past several years, the UAE has positioned itself as a global hub for blockchain innovation, creating crypto-friendly licensing frameworks in financial free zones such as VARA in Dubai and ADGM in Abu Dhabi. The broad language of the law has raised fears that the once favorable crypto climate in the UAE may shift toward more centralized control of digital asset infrastructure. The new Central Bank law extends across the entire country, including these previously lenient jurisdictions, raising questions about whether developers, exchanges, and wallet providers will…

---

Filed under: News - @ November 16, 2025 11:20 am