ADGM specifies commercial licensing rules for crypto miners

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has issued dedicated guidance requiring commercial cryptocurrency mining businesses operating within or from its jurisdiction to follow a defined licensing and governance framework overseen by its Registration Authority.

The international financial centre said the guidance, published on Wednesday, was the first comprehensive document of its kind issued by a regional international financial centre. It identifies crypto mining as a licensable commercial activity rather than a financial service regulated by ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA).

Issued under Section 23 of the Commercial Licensing Regulations 2025, the document establishes a dedicated commercial licence under business activity code 7230. Operators must assess their proposed activities before applying, particularly where their business models could involve financial services requiring separate regulatory permission.

The distinction is intended to clarify which authority supervises mining businesses and prevent commercial registration from being mistaken for authorisation to undertake regulated financial activities. The pre-application self-assessment gives prospective operators a means of examining that boundary before seeking a licence.

ADGM said its approach was technology-neutral, covering proof-of-work mining, proof-of-stake validation and future blockchain consensus mechanisms. The classification therefore does not depend exclusively on the equipment or technical method used to validate transactions and generate rewards.

The guidance also specifies expectations for corporate governance and transparency. Businesses must provide information about their corporate structures and ultimate beneficial owners, allowing the Registration Authority to identify who controls operations and holds responsibility for compliance.

Operators are also expected to disclose confidentially the blockchain addresses associated with the flow of mining rewards. The requirement gives the authority visibility into the addresses through which rewards are received while treating the information as confidential rather than requiring public disclosure.

Supervision will be proportionate to the scale and risk profile of individual businesses. The Registration Authority said its oversight would take account of operational differences, rather than applying an identical level of scrutiny to every mining company regardless of size or complexity.

Rashed Al Blooshi, chief executive of ADGM’s Registration Authority, said the guidance provided operators with a clear commercial licensing pathway and greater certainty about the division of regulatory responsibilities.

“Abu Dhabi’s economy is increasingly shaped by digital infrastructure, and crypto mining sits at the intersection of energy, technology and capital,” he said in the authority’s announcement.

Al Blooshi said ADGM was open to responsible crypto mining, with supervision calibrated to the scale and risks of individual operations. He emphasised governance, transparency and operational integrity as standards expected of businesses establishing themselves in the financial centre.

The guidance also addresses ADGM-registered headquarters managing mining activities outside the jurisdiction. Such entities will be subject to what the Registration Authority describes as a reasonable-oversight approach, recognising the distinction between responsibility at headquarters and operational management at overseas facilities.

That provision is relevant to companies using Abu Dhabi as a base for supervising international mining businesses rather than operating all their computing infrastructure within ADGM itself. It clarifies that an overseas operating footprint does not remove the need for appropriate governance at the registered headquarters.

The Registration Authority described the publication as the first phase of its approach to the sector. It plans to develop a further regulatory framework for crypto mining and consult market participants before finalising that next stage. No timetable for the additional consultation was announced.

The guidance follows an eight-week public consultation launched earlier this year. ADGM said feedback received during that exercise informed the final document, including its approach to licensing, oversight and the activities falling within the commercial mining category.

The original discussion paper was published on 28 January, with submissions invited until 20 March. It sought views from existing and prospective mining businesses, headquarters overseeing overseas operations, technology providers, auditors and other industry participants.

Industry feedback also highlighted the importance of distinguishing conventional mining operations from proof-of-stake validators and infrastructure services. Global Digital Finance, an industry association, called for clearer boundaries between different blockchain activities, noting that their technical characteristics and operational risks can differ substantially. Its consultation response identified validator security, operational continuity and infrastructure management as matters warranting consideration when defining supervisory expectations.

The Registration Authority’s regulatory priorities for 2026–27 separately identify beneficial ownership transparency, responsible innovation and risk-based supervision among its areas of attention. Those priorities provide the wider supervisory setting for the new mining guidance without changing the separate remit of the FSRA.