ADGM to introduce crypto mining framework in the UAE

The UAE based ADGM Registration Authority (“RA”) has published Discussion Paper No. 1 of 2026, inviting stakeholder feedback on proposed guidance for crypto mining activities conducted within or from ADGM.

As per the announcement, the proposal aims to provide clarity on regulations alongside responsible innovation and governance standards for crypto mining.

In the discussion paper, ADGM defines crypto mining as the verification of transactions on a decentralized ledger or infrastructure network, in return for rewards in the form of digital assets generated by a consensus mechanism. The financial freezone has take a technology neutral approach to the framework, and accept all kinds of blockchains including proof of work, proof of stake and others.

License for crypto mining entities will be offered under a commercial one by the registration authority, as a financial service and not under the FSRA regulatory authority. However all crypto entities will also have to adhere to the UAE Federal laws already in place.

The framework will also include clear governance expectations, with beneficial ownership disclosure, operational integrity, as well as risk based supervision with oversight calibrated on the scale and complexity of the mining operations.

A new concept introduce by ADGM will be global oversight, where  crypto mining entities registered in ADGM can also oversee and manage overseas crypto mining operations.

ADGM is looking for responses from entities engaged in crypto mining activities, or planning to, as well as technology vendors, auditors, and other relevant industry stakeholders. Feedback is needed by March 20th, 2026.

ADGM wants to set a framework for crypto mining because it can pose risks in areas such as operational resilience, cybersecurity, transparency of ownership and control, health and safety at facilities, and cross border oversight.

Dmitry Fedotov, Head of Emerging Technology at ADGM, on LinkedIn, wrote, “This is an important step towards regulatory certainty for entities engaged in crypto mining, whether operating locally, establishing regional headquarters, or managing global mining portfolios from ADGM.”

He added that the areas where feedback is specifically sought are in the clarity of licensing requirements, assessment, proportionality of proposed license conditions, appropriateness of onchain address disclosure expectations, adequacy of supervisory tools, including potential SupTech integrations, and expectations for ADGM headquartered entities overseeing global mining operations.

The last one addresses a genuine gap, says Fedetov, as mining operations increasingly span multiple jurisdictions. He explains, “There’s value in establishing clear expectations for how headquarters entities should exercise oversight, conduct due diligence on host jurisdictions, and apply consistent governance standards across their global footprint.”

The UAE has a handful of operating crypto mining firms

Already, the UAE has a handful of crypto mining entities operating out of the country. 

The major two well known are Phoenix, the first crypto mining entity in UAE to have an IPO and list on Abu Dhabi Exchange, and Marathon Digital which in 2023 entered into a shareholder’s agreement with FSI (FS Innovation), the BTC mining subsidiary of UAE ADQ a sovereign fund, to form an Abu Dhabi. 

Additionally, in 2024, Hut 8 an energy infrastructure platform integrating power, digital infrastructure, and compute at scale to fuel next generation, energy intensive use cases such as Bitcoin mining and high performance computing, registered to open an office in Dubai, UAE.

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