Exchanges barred from listing
United Arab Emirates
Licensed crypto firms in Dubai, including the DIFC financial centre, may not deal in privacy coins, under rules in force since 2022 and 2023.
The rule
- Exchange listing
- Barred
- Holding by individuals
- Allowed
- Mixers
- Barred by rule
- Self-hosted wallets
- Owner details
- In force from
- 1 Nov 2022
- Confidence
- Confirmed
Dates: the rule has been in force since 1 Nov 2022 and the rule on self-hosted wallets since 24 Feb 2026.
Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) states in its Virtual Asset Issuance Rulebook of 7 February 2023 that, as specified in the Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023, issuing Anonymity-Enhanced Cryptocurrencies and all virtual asset activities related to them are prohibited in the Emirate. In the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), rule GEN 3A.2.2 of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) General Module, in force since 1 November 2022 and last amended from 12 January 2026, says a person must not carry on a financial service relating to a Privacy Token or one that involves the use of a Privacy Device, and DFSA guidance treats tokens with optional privacy features as Privacy Tokens. Both rules apply to licensed and regulated activity, and the DIFC rule on Privacy Devices covers tools for hiding or preventing the tracing of transactions; no rule was found that stops individuals holding privacy coins in their own wallets. The VARA rulebook opened is the February 2023 version, because VARA's current rulebook pages refused automated access on 13 October 2026, and Abu Dhabi Global Market and federal rules were not re-checked for this update.
Instrument: Dubai VARA Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023 (prohibition on Anonymity-Enhanced Cryptocurrencies); DFSA General Module rule GEN 3A.2.2 (DIFC)
Sources
Self-hosted wallets
Owner details since 24 Feb 2026
Under the UAE virtual asset travel rule issued with Cabinet Decision No. 134 of 2025, Dubai's VARA requires licensed firms to apply enhanced due diligence, including additional customer identification and source-of-funds verification, to transfers involving unhosted wallets, and to decline, delay or return a transfer where information is missing or risks cannot be mitigated.
VARA's circular to all Dubai VASPs of 24 February 2026 sets out its expectations under the UAE Virtual Asset Travel Rule issued pursuant to Cabinet Decision No. (134) of 2025 implementing Federal Decree-Law No. (10) of 2025; for transfers with daily aggregated amounts of AED 3,500 or more it requires verification of a beneficiary not previously verified, but it prescribes no particular ownership test, such as a signed message, for unhosted wallets. VARA's Compliance and Risk Management Rulebook (Part III, Section G, version of 19 May 2025) applies the travel rule to transfers above AED 3,500 and tells firms to consider how they will handle risks from unhosted wallets and anonymity-enhanced transactions. A notice of 8 December 2025 from the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority says Cabinet Resolution No. 134 of 2025 took effect on 14 December 2025, but the circular says the travel rule applies under the Resolution's own commencement provisions, which were not checked, so the since date is the circular's date. Rules for the DIFC, ADGM and federally licensed firms were not checked.
Privacy coins and wallets: VARA's circular of 24 February 2026 says firms must not execute virtual asset transfers involving privacy tokens, citing their inherent obfuscation features.
- Circular to all Virtual Asset Service Providers in the Emirate of Dubai: Implementation of the UAE Virtual Assets Travel Rule Requirements
- Compliance and Risk Management Rulebook, Part III, Section G: FATF Travel Rule
- Notice FSRA/FCCP/172/2025: Update on UAE Federal Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organizations Legislative Framework
Exchanges and their restrictions
The 14 exchanges on this site, with the 32 spot markets they list for the seven coins, as checked on 13 Oct 2026. The exchange data records where each listing is restricted as text, so this page quotes each passage that names the United Arab Emirates, and marks the cells it comes from. An exchange with no such passage has no restriction for the United Arab Emirates on record here, which does not mean that it is licensed there or open to its residents. A listing is not an endorsement.
Swipe the table sideways to see all seven coins.
| Exchange | ZECZcashSpot on 11, perp only on 1 | XMRMoneroSpot on 6, perp only on 3 | DCRDecredSpot on 6 | ZANOZanoSpot on 1 | ARRRPirate ChainSpot on 2 | XVGVergeSpot on 4, perp only on 3 | FIROFiroSpot on 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | Restricted +perpApr 2025Named in a noteShielded in: noShielded out: no | DelistedFeb 2024Perp only | RestrictedApr 2025Named in a note | Never listed | Never listed | Listed +perpWithdrawals frozen | DelistedApr 2025 |
| Coinbase | Listed +perpNov 2018Shielded in: yesShielded out: no | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed |
| Kraken | Restricted +perpJun 2026Named in a noteShielded in: unknownShielded out: no | Restricted +perpJun 2026Named in a note | RestrictedMay 2026 | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed |
| OKX | Listed +perpNov 2025Shielded in: unknownShielded out: unknown | DelistedJan 2024 | DelistedJul 2024 | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed |
| Bybit | DelistedFeb 2025Perp only | Never listedPerp only | DelistedNov 2024 | Never listed | Never listed | Never listedPerp only | Never listed |
| Bitget | Listed +perpDec 2025Shielded in: unknownShielded out: unknown | Never listedPerp only | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed | Never listedPerp only | Never listed |
| KuCoin | Listed +perpJul 2019Shielded in: unknownShielded out: no | Listed +perpMar 2019 | ListedSep 2018 | Never listed | DelistedSep 2023 | Never listedPerp only | Never listed |
| Gate | Listed +perpShielded in: unknownShielded out: unknown | Restricted +perp | Listed | Never listed | ListedWithdrawals frozen | Restricted | Restricted |
| HTX | Listed +perpDec 2022Shielded in: noShielded out: no | Listed +perpDec 2022 | ListedDec 2022 | Never listed | Never listed | ListedDec 2022 | DelistedSep 2025 |
| MEXC | Listed +perpShielded in: unknownShielded out: unknown | Listed +perp | Listed | ListedDec 2023 | ListedJan 2024 | Listed +perp | Listed |
| Gemini | RestrictedMay 2018Shielded in: yesShielded out: yes | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed |
| Bitfinex | Listed +perpOct 2016Withdrawals frozenShielded in: unknownShielded out: unknown | ListedNov 2016 | DelistedMar 2022 | Never listed | Never listed | DelistedDec 2024 | Never listed |
| Crypto.com | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed | Never listed |
| Upbit | DelistedSep 2019 | DelistedSep 2019 | DelistedDec 2020 | Never listed | Never listed | DelistedMay 2020 | DelistedMay 2020 |
Passages that name the United Arab Emirates
- ZEC Restricted Not offered to Dubai users, who are moved to the separate Binance Dubai (FZE) exchange ZEC trades against BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, USD1 and U but has not been offered to Dubai users since their move to Binance Dubai (FZE) began on 25 Apr 2025;
- DCR Restricted Not offered to Dubai users, who are moved to the separate Binance Dubai (FZE) exchange Only the DCR/USDT spot pair trades today (DCR/BTC, DCR/BNB and DCR/BUSD show status BREAK) and DCR carries no Monitoring Tag, but it has not been offered to Dubai users since their move to Binance Dubai (FZE) began on 25 Apr 2025; a secondary report dates the original listing to 24 Oct 2018.
- ZEC Restricted Not offered to clients in India (since 10 April 2026), the UAE (since 16 June 2026) or Australia (on Kraken's licensing page, which gives no start date) Kraken delisted ZEC for clients residing in India (deposits and trading stopped on 10 April 2026) and in the UAE (deposits and trading stopped on 16 June 2026), and its licensing page, last updated on 30 September 2026, says Australian clients cannot deposit, hold or trade ZEC.
- XMR Restricted Not offered to clients in the UK (since November 2021, per press reports), Ireland and Belgium (since 10 May 2024), the rest of the EEA (since 31 October 2024), Canada (since 2 September 2025), India (since 10 April 2026), the UAE (since 16 June 2026) or Australia The Ireland, Belgium, EEA, Canada, India and UAE restrictions are on Kraken's own notices, and Kraken's licensing page, last updated on 30 September 2026, lists XMR among the assets that clients in the UK and the EEA cannot deposit or trade and that clients in Canada and Australia cannot deposit, hold or trade.
Self-hosted wallets for the seven coins
The nine wallets on the Wallets page that hold at least one of the seven coins, with the coins and platforms each supports. The wallet data does not record where each wallet is offered, so this list is the same on every country page, and the United Arab Emirates's own rules, set out above, apply to their use. A listing is not an endorsement.