VARA and Mastercard Sign MoU on Sandbox Access for Virtual Asset Founders

Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mastercard. The two organisations will look at ways to help founders and younger companies in virtual assets, including experiments inside regulatory sandboxes.

The agreement pairs VARA's rule-making side with Mastercard's experience in payments technology. Beyond sandboxes, it covers deeper engagement with the industry, sharing knowledge, and finding support for new technologies and the businesses entering the market.

Mastercard brings its own build-out of infrastructure for stablecoins and other forms of digital value used in everyday payments. That work is what the company is drawing on here. It recently acquired BVNK, a provider of stablecoin infrastructure.

Matthew White, VARA's chief executive, said cooperation between regulators and industry is what allows innovation to grow without weakening standards. He said the arrangement with Mastercard reflects where the authority has set its priorities: innovation handled responsibly, and confidence in the market.

Gina Petersen-Skyrme, who leads Mastercard's UAE and Oman business as a senior vice president, said digital assets could offer people and companies new ways to move value. Getting there, she said, rests on clear regulatory frameworks, dependable infrastructure and close cooperation with the industry.

The MoU sits inside D33, Dubai's wider economic programme, which leans on innovation and digital change to drive the emirate's growth.

For Dubai, the practical test is whether sandbox access turns into licensed businesses. A regulator can write rules; it cannot build the rails. Bringing a payments network into that work gives founders a route to test settlement and acceptance with a company that already processes them — and gives VARA a view of where its rulebook meets commercial reality.