Mashable: The minister for AI and digital economy does stress, however, that governments do need to work together to stop bad actors from going awol overseas in the light of the FTX scandal.

Dr. Thani Al-Zeyoudi, minister of state for foreign trade in the United Arab Emirates, has predicted that cryptocurrency will play a "major role" in the country's international trade going forward.

As per CoinTelegraph, on January 20 in Davos, Switzerland, where world leaders are now meeting for the 2023 World Economic Forum, Al-Zeyoudi spoke with Bloomberg and updated them on the United Arab Emirates’ trade partnerships and policies for the upcoming year.

The minister's remarks follow a new rule established a week ago by the UAE Cabinet, which stipulates that any organization partaking in cryptocurrency activities must first obtain a license and approval from the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).

A violation of this new regulation could result in fines of up to $2.7 million for businesses. The action follows the September publication of "Guiding Principles" for digital asset regulation and supervision by the financial regulator of Abu Dhabi's Global Market free economic zone.

The principles define a supportive posture towards crypto while also vowing to comply with international norms in anti-money laundering (AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), and supporting financial sanctions.

On January 19, the World Economic Forum heard from Omar Sultan Al Olama, minister of state for artificial intelligence and the digital economy in the United Arab Emirates. Al Olama said that the UAE still aimed to be a hub despite the FTX scandal, which he acknowledged was a serious worry. He viewed favorably the fact that many cryptocurrency firms now call the United Arab Emirates (UAE) home. He did emphasize, though, that governments do need to cooperate together to avoid bad actors from going awol overseas.