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VARA Is Focused on Consumer Protection for Tokenization Efforts in Dubai, Senior Official Says

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Crypto regulation has come a long way. No longer is it a pass-off game between various government bodies: Digital assets now have dedicated overseers in a lot of regions.

One of the pioneers in the space is Dubai’s crypto regulator, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). What sets VARA apart is its ability to effectively communicate guidelines and regulation to crypto firms, according to its senior official.

«Set and forget does not work for crypto, it’s all about feedback and open channels,» said Sean McHugh, senior director of market assurance at VARA. «Since we are exclusively focused on crypto, it allows us to get a little deeper into the tech and our rules are written for the modern-era.»

Dubai has become a crypto darling, emerging as one of the preferred choice for non-native crypto firms to set up shop and gain access to the region and beyond.

«Dubai is seen as a great jumping off point. We’ve seen a lot of [crypto] firms from Europe and beyond coming here and the reverse is also true, we see a lot of companies from other side of Asia come here. It’s a strategic move and the regulatory clarity helps them,» McHugh added.

Tokenization and beyond

Real world tokenization, or RWA, is gaining lot of traction in Dubai and for good reason. The region’s real estate agency, the Dubai Land Department (DLD), recently started a pilot to register and transfer property deeds on the blockchain. The tokenization initiative is being fostered by VARA and the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF).

The integration of real-estate into blockchain could bolster the city’s massive property market. DLD expects tokenized real-estate to jump to 60 billion dirhams ($16 billion) by 2033, accounting for 7% of Dubai’s total property transactions.

McHugh, speaking to CoinDesk at VARA’s office, believes that real estate is just the beginning.

«It’s very popular, not just in Dubai, but beyond. Dubai has the ability to get things done quicker,» he said, adding that they are also seeing a lot of precious metal tokenization projects.

VARA, with its nimble approach to regulation, is closely watching the space, he said.

«Whether it’s real estate, precious metal, or some other asset, a big part of my focus on this is customer protection. So, especially when you get to fractionalization it brings in a lot of new capital and retail investors, that need to be protected,» he said.

«We ask a lot of questions when it comes to RWA projects, what is the token? what exactly do I own? What does it trade and who is the liquidity provider? Cause for investors (institutional or otherwise) they need a liquidity event to get out. And these are the type of things we drill down with each project,» McHugh emphasized.

Interagency collaboration

The Donald Trump administration has openly advocated for crypto in the U.S. and in the opinion of industry leaders pushed other regions to follow suit. That’s not necessarily the case in the UAE, especially with VARA, which was created three years ago, long before the U.S. President became an open proponent of digital assets.

McHugh believes that interagency cooperation will be key for global crypto regulation, but does not see any particular agency leading the charge.

«I don’t think we’d see some super regulator, regional or otherwise. I think each agency is focused on its own customers,» he said, adding that memoranda of understanding (MoU) and open communication between governing bodies is the way to successfully watch over crypto.

Whether it’s exchanges, Web3 or RWA, the future of crypto in Dubai looks bright and McHugh, who was the former chief compliance officer at Citadel, said he feels that one of the main reason for that is the pro-business and start-up nature of the city.

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Terraform Labs to Open Claims Portal for Investors on March 31


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Terraform Labs, the firm behind the collapsed Luna token and the TerraUSD stablecoin, will open a portal on March 31 to allow investors to file claims for crypto losses tied to the company’s downfall and subsequent bankruptcy.

The online system, operated by claims administrator Kroll, is part of the company’s court-supervised wind-down process. Investors have until April 30 at 11:59 p.m. ET to submit claims through claims.terra.money. Late submissions will not be considered, meaning those who miss the deadline forfeit their right to any recovery, according to a Medium post.

Eligible claims must be tied to specific cryptocurrencies listed in the case documents and held during the period surrounding the Terra ecosystem’s collapse. Notably, assets with less than $100 in on-chain liquidity and certain others—like Terra 2.0’s Luna—will not qualify.

Claimants must also submit proof of ownership. The preferred method is read-only API keys from exchanges, which the administrator considers more reliable than screenshots or manually uploaded documents. The post adds that those using manual evidence may face extended review periods or risk their claims being denied altogether.

Once filed, claims will be reviewed and verified. Initial decisions will be shared within 90 days after the deadline and approved claims will be eligible for pro rata distributions once processing concludes.

The Terra ecosystem collapsed in 2022, leading to the largest destruction of wealth in just three days in the cryptocurrency space’s history. LUNA’s market capitalization plunged from over $41 billion to $6 million in that period.
Read more: Terraform Labs, Do Kwon Agree to Pay SEC a Combined $4.5B in Civil Fraud Case

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Bitcoin Miner MARA Starts Massive $2B Stock Sale Plan to Buy More BTC

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Bitcoin mining company MARA Holdings (MARA) is launching a fresh $2 billion stock offering to buy more bitcoin, continuing its plan of buying BTC in the open market through capital raise while sticking to its «Hodl» strategy.

According to a Form 8-K and a new prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), MARA entered into an at-the-market (ATM) equity program with a group of investment banks including Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, BTIG, Cantor Fitzgerald, and others. The proceeds of the offering, which will see brokers selling shares of the miner from time to time, will be used mainly for the acquisition of bitcoin in the open market.

«We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of bitcoin and for working capital,» MARA said in its prospectus.

This new fresh stock sales plan follows a previous ATM offering that targeted up to $1.5 billion for the miner.

MARA has adopted Michael Saylor’s strategy of raising funds through equity and convertible bond offerings and buying bitcoin in the open market. The miner now holds 46,376 BTC in its treasury, making it the second-largest bitcoin stash among publicly traded companies, behind Strategy’s 506,137 BTC.

The plan to buy bitcoin in the open market was adopted by the miner last year, even though a miner can theoretically mine bitcoin at a discount to the spot price. The industry became challenging after last year’s halving cut mining rewards by half, squeezing profit margins on the back of rising costs. This made buying bitcoin in the open market, alongside mining, a relatively better strategy for the miners.
Read more: Bitcoin Mining Is So Rough a Miner Adopted Michael Saylor’s Successful BTC Strategy

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FTX to Begin $11.4B Creditor Payouts in May After Years-Long Bankruptcy Battle

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FTX, the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange once helmed by Sam Bankman-Fried, plans to begin paying its main creditors at the end of May, Bloomberg reported based on court proceedings in Delaware this week.

The company has gathered $11.4 billion in cash to distribute to thousands of parties affected by its 2022 bankruptcy, with the first payments to major creditors set for May 30.

These include institutional investors and firms that held crypto on FTX’s platform. Smaller creditors with claims below the $50,000 mark have already begun receiving distributions.

FTX’s collapse left a financial crater and a trail of frustrated creditors—many of whom expected to be repaid in crypto, not dollars. Since the bankruptcy, the price of bitcoin has more than quadrupled, intensifying frustrations among those waiting for their assets back.

The task of unwinding FTX’s balance sheet has been slowed by a large number of claims, many of them reportedly questionable. Andrew Dietderich, a bankruptcy attorney for the firm, told the court that FTX has received “27 quintillion” claims, Blloomberg reported, many of which are duplicates or outright fraudulent.

Interest payments are compounding the urgency. While FTX earns only a modest return on its cash, legitimate creditors are entitled to 9% interest annually on unpaid claims. The longer it takes to pay, the more the company could owe.

Read more: Nearly All FTX Creditors Will Get 118% of Their Funds Back in Cash, Estate Says in New Plan

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