FTA Directive No. 3 of 2026 on Converting Digital Currency Values to AED

• The UAE Federal Tax Authority published Directive on Tax Transactions No. 3 of 2026 on 17 July 2026, mandating how taxable persons convert digital-currency values into AED for VAT return disclosure. [visaverge.com], [tax.gov.ae]
• Businesses must select three platforms from the FTA’s approved list of centralised public exchanges — Binance FZE, Bybit Fintech FZE, Deribit FZE, Bitget and Payward FZCO — and use the same three throughout the calendar year, applying the numerical average of their rates. [visaverge.com], [linkedin.com]
• The rate is that prevailing at the date/time of supply or receipt of consideration; timestamped records must be retained, and the directive sets valuation only — it does not decide whether a crypto transaction is taxable. [visaverge.com]

Article: The measure applies when a taxable person supplies digital currency or receives it as consideration. Businesses cannot cherry-pick more favourable rate combinations mid-year, and must document their platform selection before the first covered transaction. The FTA will issue further clarification for currencies not covered by the approved list. Sources: VisaVerge, FTA legislation page, Jaxa summary.