Dubai International Financial Centre

Overview

The DIFC is a financial free zone inside Dubai with its own civil and commercial law, its own courts and its own regulator, the DFSA. Dubai Law No. 4 of 2022 carves it out of VARA's perimeter, which is why a Dubai address can put a firm in front of either regulator depending on the street it is on.

Digital assets as property

DIFC legislation recognises digital assets as a form of property. This is the jurisdiction's most underrated feature. It gives determinate answers to the questions that otherwise have none: who owns an asset held by a custodian, what happens to it on insolvency, whether it can be secured, assigned or held on trust.

For custody businesses and for anyone financing against digital assets, that is the reason to be here.

What it is good for

Tokenised securities under the Investment Token regime. Funds. Wealth management with digital-asset exposure. Custody where the property analysis matters.

What it demands

Substance in the DIFC. Category-based capital. Authorised individuals for the senior functions. Client asset arrangements that work under the DFSA rules and the DIFC property regime together.

Courts

The DIFC Courts are long established, publish their judgments, and hear commercial disputes in English. They are an asset when negotiating with international counterparties.

How we help

We choose the jurisdiction on the business the client actually has — the customers, the counterparties, the activities and the tax position — and we say plainly when a cheaper jurisdiction would serve just as well.