Oman Capital Markets Regulator Plans to Establish a Virtual Assets Regulatory Framework

The Oman Capital Market Authority (CMA) has said it plans to establish a regulatory regime to govern as well as develop the country’s virtual assets market. The regulator said the envisaged regulatory regime enables it to avail an “alternative financing and investment platform for issuers and investors while mitigating the risks associated with this asset class.”

The Oman financial markets regulator, the Oman Capital Market Authority, has said it plans to establish a virtual assets framework to “regulate and develop the market in the Sultanate of Oman.” According to the regulator, this plan demonstrates its “proactive approach to develop the digital assets and fintech industry in Oman.”

Also as explained in the regulator’s Feb. 14 press release, the creation of the so-called virtual assets regulatory framework will enable the CMA to avail an “alternative financing and investment platform for issuers and investors, while mitigating the risks associated with this asset class.”

As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News in Jan. 2022, CMA initially revealed plans to establish the regulatory regime after it invited bids from “specialized companies” interested in helping Oman set up a regulatory framework for virtual assets. However, after spending more than one year working on this, the organization revealed in the latest press statement that it is now working on defining the framework.

“The CMA is in the process of defining a comprehensive and facilitative regulatory framework, which will include a new regulation to cover all virtual assets activities, a licensing framework for all VASP categories and a supervisory framework to identify, assess, and mitigate ongoing risks,” the regulator said.

The regulator added that the objective of the envisaged regulatory regime is to establish rules which help prevent market abuse.

Meanwhile, the press release also revealed that the CMA had chosen Xreg Consulting Limited, an international policy and regulatory consultancy specializing in virtual assets, as its adviser. The regulator has similarly appointed the Omani law firm Said Al-Shahry and Partners, Advocates & Legal Consultants (SASLO), the press release added.

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