UAE FTA Standardizes Crypto-to-AED Conversion for VAT Reporting

The UAE FTA issued Directive No. 3 of 2026 to standardize how crypto payments are converted into AED for VAT reporting.
Businesses accepting or paying in cryptocurrency must choose three FTA-approved centralized exchanges and use the same three all year.
For VAT returns, the AED value must be the average of the rates from those three exchanges at the exact date and time of supply.
The directive only sets a consistent valuation method for reporting and record-keeping; it does not change VAT exemptions or create new tax rates.

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.