ADGM issues region’s first comprehensive Guidance on crypto mining

The Registration Authority (RA) of ADGM, the international financial centre (IFC) of Abu Dhabi, has published its Guidance on Crypto Mining Activities in and from ADGM (Guidance), providing clear governance and commercial licensing direction for crypto mining operators as well as businesses conducting crypto mining activities within or from ADGM. With the publication of the Guidance, ADGM has introduced the first comprehensive crypto mining Guidance by an international financial centre in the region.

Issued under section 23 of the Commercial Licensing Regulations 2025, the Guidance treats crypto mining as a licensable commercial activity overseen by the RA and not a regulated financial service. It adopts a technology-neutral approach applying across Proof-of-Work, Proof-of-Stake and future consensus mechanisms.

Rashed Al Blooshi, CEO of the RA of ADGM, said, “Abu Dhabi’s economy is increasingly shaped by digital infrastructure, and crypto mining sits at the intersection of energy, technology and capital. With this Guidance, ADGM is open to responsible crypto mining. We are giving operators a clear commercial licensing pathway, proportionate supervision calibrated to scale and risk, and certainty on where the regulatory perimeter resides. Businesses that meet high standards of governance, transparency and operational integrity will find in Abu Dhabi a jurisdiction where they can plan, invest and grow with confidence. This Guidance reflects ADGM’s wider approach to innovation, enabling new business models to develop within a trusted and well-governed environment.”

The key features of the Guidance on Crypto Mining Activities include highlighting the Registration Authority’s (RA) dedicated commercial licence for crypto mining under business activity code 7230; establishing a clear distinction between commercial crypto mining and activities regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), with a pre-application self-assessment; clarifying the RA’s governance and transparency requirements, including disclosure of corporate structure and ultimate beneficial ownership; confirming the confidential disclosure of on-chain reward-flow addresses; outlining the RA’s risk-based supervisory approach, proportionate to the scale and risk profile of each operation; and providing information on the RA’s reasonable-oversight approach to ADGM-registered headquarters overseeing global operations.

This Guidance is the first phase of the Registration Authority’s approach to crypto mining in ADGM. In a second phase, the RA will develop a regulatory framework for the activity, on which it will consult with the market in due course.

The Guidance follows an eight-week public consultation published earlier in the year, which generated substantive feedback which helped to tailor the Guidance appropriately.

The publication of the Guidance builds on ADGM’s established approach to strengthen and enable the digital assets and emerging technologies environment within its jurisdiction and provides greater regulatory certainty for responsible crypto mining operators seeking to establish and grow their activities from Abu Dhabi, while supporting its role as a catalyst for the emirate’s broader economic vision.