Oman Financial Services Authority Launches Virtual Asse...

Oman's capital markets regulator rebranded itself as the Financial Services Authority by Royal Decree, signaling ambition to become a serious player in virtual asset oversight. Yet the country's crypto regime remains stuck in an awkward middle phase: interim VASP registration is live, but the full licensing framework promised after a 2023 public consultation has not materialized. Three years is a long time to stay "interim."

What exists today

The Financial Services Authority issued Decision E/35/2023 on June 6, 2023, establishing a VASP registration process with mandatory AML/CFT requirements. Registered entities must conduct risk assessments, maintain transaction monitoring systems, and file suspicious transaction reports. Easy Coins became the first registered VASP in August 2023, giving Oman a proof of concept.

That same summer, the FSA opened a public consultation on a proposed Virtual Asset Regulatory Framework, running from July through August 2023. The proposed rules were ambitious: local entity presence, physical office requirements, limits on hot wallet percentages, proof of reserves, and regular audits. Capital requirements were flagged but never published with specific figures.

As of early 2026, none of those proposed rules have been finalized. The consultation closed. The responses were collected. And then? Silence.

The pace problem

Compare Oman's timeline to its neighbors. Bahrain's Central Bank published a full crypto-asset licensing regime in 2019, making it the first Gulf state with a working framework. The UAE's VARA in Dubai launched its full-scope, if expensive, licensing system in 2023 and has been iterating since. Qatar's QFC went live with its Digital Assets Framework in September 2024 (limited to tokenization, excluding crypto).

Oman's FSA opened consultation in mid-2023 and, nearly three years later, still operates on interim registration only. Why the delay? The FSA has not offered a public explanation. Possible factors include limited regulatory capacity (the FSA handles securities, insurance, and now virtual assets), political caution, or simply a strategic choice to let neighbors absorb the early compliance headaches first.

That strategy has a cost. Firms seeking regulatory certainty choose jurisdictions where the rules are published. An interim registration that lacks published capital requirements, custody standards, or operational guidelines gives potential applicants very little to work with.

Tax and compliance landscape

Oman levies 15% corporate tax and 5% VAT, making it less attractive on headline rates than the UAE's free zones (0% corporate tax in many cases). For VASPs weighing Oman against Dubai or Abu Dhabi, the tax differential alone tilts the math. The only scenario where Oman wins on cost is if its eventual licensing fees undercut VARA's, which charges hundreds of thousands of dollars for a full license.

The AML/CFT obligations under Decision E/35/2023 are real and enforceable. Transaction monitoring, risk assessments, and suspicious activity reporting are mandatory from day one of registration. But these are table stakes in 2026, not differentiators. Every jurisdiction in the Gulf requires them.

What would change the calculus

If the FSA publishes a full framework with clear capital requirements, reasonable licensing fees, and a fast application process, Oman could position itself as a lower-cost alternative to the UAE for firms that do not need Dubai's brand cachet. The physical office and local entity requirements from the 2023 consultation would create jobs and economic activity, which aligns with Oman's Vision 2040 diversification goals.

But "if" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Until the FSA converts its 2023 proposals into binding regulation, Oman's virtual asset regime remains a registration system with AML obligations and not much else. Firms that need a full license will keep going to Abu Dhabi or Bahrain.