ADGM's Registration Authority issues guidance on crypto mining in Abu Dhabi

The Registration Authority of Abu Dhabi’s ADGM has published guidance on cryptocurrency mining in the emirate's international financial centre.

The guidance, the first from a financial centre in the region, provides clear directions on commercial licencing to crypto miners and businesses conducting crypto mining within or from the emirate's financial centre, the authority said in a statement on Thursday.

The advice treats crypto mining as a “licencable commercial activity” overseen by the ADGM’s Registration Authority and not as a regulated financial service. The authority has adopted a “technology-neutral approach” across proof of work and proof of stake to ensure responsible mining activities, it said.

The move is in line with the ADGM’s broader strategy of promoting innovation, and enabling new business models to develop within a well-governed environment, said Rashed Al Blooshi, chief executive of the Registration Authority at the ADGM.

Abu Dhabi’s economy is increasingly being shaped by digital infrastructure, and the emirate regards crypto mining to be at the “intersection of energy, technology and capital”, Mr Al Blooshi said.

“With this guidance, ADGM is open for responsible crypto mining,” he said. “We are giving operators a clear commercial licencing pathway, proportionate supervision calibrated to scale and risk, and certainty on where the regulatory perimeter resides.”