UAE introduces new VAT rules for crypto payments

The UAE just gave crypto payments a tax rulebook. The Federal Tax Authority issued Directive on Tax Transactions No. 3 of 2026 in mid-July, laying out exactly how businesses must handle digital currency conversions when reporting Value Added Tax.

The core requirement: any company receiving crypto as payment for goods or services must convert those amounts into UAE dirhams using a standardized process. That means picking three approved exchange platforms, computing an arithmetic average of their rates at the exact date and time of each transaction, and sticking with those same three platforms for the entire calendar year.

How the conversion process works

The FTA’s approved platform list includes Binance FZE, Bybit Fintech FZE, Deribit FZE, Bitget, and Payward FZCO. Businesses must select three from this group and use only that trio for all digital currency VAT calculations throughout the year.

For each transaction, the company pulls the exchange rate from all three chosen platforms at the precise timestamp when the transaction occurs. Those three rates get averaged, and that average becomes the dirham value reported to the FTA.

Record-keeping requirements are strict. Companies must maintain timestamped logs of the exchange rates they pulled from each platform for every single transaction.