UAE Authorities Deny TON Claims Over Golden Visa Offer for Crypto Investors, TON Dips 6%

The UAE authorities have published a joint statement on Monday, denying false reports over golden visa for crypto investors.

The buzz emerged after Toncoin (TON), the native token of The Open Network, unveiled an innovative staking-based Golden Visa program. According to TON’s claims, participants can secure long-term residency by staking crypto, rather than meeting the income thresholds.

Applicants who stake $100,000 worth of TON for three years and pay a one-time $35,000 processing fee would be eligible for a 10-year golden visa, TON said.

Per a WAM news agency report, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP), the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), and the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) refuted the claims.

The three authorities warned against engaging with such unverified offers spreading online.

Update: UAE gov has confirmed you can’t get a Golden Visa by investing in crypto.

Bummer for $TON buyers, it’s ~6% down from today’s high and the news came out around an hour ago. https://t.co/G2BydgTMFJ pic.twitter.com/LXxcqyh2ZE

The SCA emphasized that crypto investments are governed by established frameworks and are “unrelated” to golden visa eligibility. The agency urged investors to obtain official information from credible sources to avoid misinformation.

Similarly, Dubai’s VARA denied the claims, strongly urging crypto investors to deal exclusively with fully licensed and regulated companies. The company TON is neither licensed nor regulated by VARA, the firm confirmed.

According to the ICP, golden visas are issued adhering to officially approved frameworks and criteria, which don’t include crypto investors.

“Eligible categories include real estate investors, entrepreneurs, exceptional talents, scientists and specialists, top students and graduates, humanitarian pioneers, and frontline workers.”

The golden visa enables foreign nationals to live, work, and study in the UAE, with durations ranging from 5-10 years. Further, investors can receive long-term residency if they have public investments worth 2 million UAE dirham ($544,000) or more.

Following TON’s tout over the UAE long-term visa, former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao posted on X, questioning whether the speculation is true.

“I have not been able to verify with an official source yet,” he wrote, before the authorities released the joint statement.

Is this real? It would be awesome IF it is true.

But I got conflicting info so far.

Some say: this is just so that they charge you $35k to pass your application to an agent, who usually only charge $1k fee.

The website seems to give the impression that "$35k + $100k… https://t.co/u3mySnObWu

“This program would be awesome if it was true,” he said. “If it is real, we will definitely try to get it on BNB too.”

Additionally, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov reposted TON’s announcement on X from a crypto influencer, adding more to the speculation. However, commenting on Durov’s retweet, CZ said, “I like to trust but verify.”

“I’d expect something like this to have a government partnership, and announcement.”

The Open Network’s native token TON surged 10% on Sunday, following the announcement, only to fall back 6% on Monday after the UAE authorities refuted the claims.

TON rose to $3.05 on Sunday, recovering recent market losses. The surge, however, was short-lived. Per Coin Market Cap data, the token plunged within hours to 6% and is trading at $2.83 at press time.

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