Today in crypto: A new financial law in the United Arab Emirates is set to bring decentralized finance (DeFi) and the broader Web3 industry under regulatory parameters, crypto projects saw their second-best quarter of venture capital funding since Q3 2022, and Japan’s financial regulator is preparing to require exchanges to hold liability reserves for customer assets.
UAE’s new financial law pulls DeFi and Web3 into regulatory scope
The UAE’s new central bank law, Federal Decree Law No. 6 of 2025, introduces “one of the most consequential regulatory shifts” for the crypto industry in the region, Irina Heaver, a local crypto lawyer and founder of NeosLegal, told Cointelegraph.
“It brings protocols, DeFi platforms, middleware, and even infrastructure providers into scope if they enable activities such as payments, exchange, lending, custody, or investment services,” Heaver said.
According to the lawyer, industry projects building or operating in the UAE should treat this as a pivotal regulatory milestone and align their systems before the September 2026 transition deadline.
Issued in the Official Gazette and legally effective since Sept. 16, 2025, the UAE’s Federal Decree Law No. 6 is a central bank law that regulates financial institutions, insurance business as well as digital asset-related activities.
Its key provisions, Article 61 and Article 62, provide a list of activities that require a license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), including crypto payments and digital stored value.
“Article 62 states that any person who carries on, offers, issues, or facilitates a licensed financial activity ‘through any means, medium, or technology’ falls under the regulatory perimeter of the CBUAE,” Heaver said.
In practice, this means DeFi projects can no longer avoid regulation by claiming they are “just code,” the lawyer said, adding that the argument of “decentralization” does not exempt a protocol from compliance.
Crypto VC activity hits $4.6 billion in third quarter
Crypto-focused venture capital investment reached $4.65 billion in the third quarter, the second-highest amount of activity since crypto exchange FTX collapsed in late 2022 and decimated venture bets on crypto.
Galaxy Digital’s head of research, Alex Thorn, said in a report on Monday that Q3’s venture bets were a 290% quarter-on-quarter jump and the largest quarter since Q1, which saw $4.8 billion in investments.
“Despite remaining below 2021-2022 bull market levels, venture activity remains active and healthy overall,” Thorn said. “Sectors like stablecoins, AI, blockchain infrastructure, and trading continue to draw deals and dollars, and pre-seed activity remains consistent.”
Q3 saw 414 venture deals, with seven accounting for half of the capital raised over the quarter.
Those included financial technology company Revolut, which attracted $1 billion, crypto exchange Kraken with $500 million and crypto-focused US bank Erebor with $250 million.
Meanwhile, established companies, those founded in 2018, accounted for most of the capital raised, while companies founded in 2024 accounted for the highest number of deals.
Japanese watchdog to require exchanges to hold liability reserves: Report
The Financial Services Agency in Japan will reportedly require cryptocurrency exchanges to maintain liability reserves as part of measures to guard against hacks or unforeseen events.
According to a Monday Nikkei report, Japan’s FSA will revise its requirements for local companies to include methods for quickly compensating users affected by security breaches or other causes. The financial watchdog reportedly cited recent hacks of global exchanges as part of the reason behind the change.
The Financial System Council, an advisory body to the FSA, is set to release a report on the matter following a meeting on Wednesday. One of the expected recommendations would require crypto firms to create liability reserve funds.
The move follows reports that the FSA plans to review regulations that would allow banks to purchase and hold crypto assets. Japan remains a country with a high concentration of crypto users, with about 12 million accounts registered as of February, according to data from the FSA. The country has a population of about 123 million.
