This Collaboration to enhance education, talent, and economic development in the region’s web3 landscape.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, June 2nd, 2025 – SuiHub MENA and the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) are teaming up to help shape the future of web3 in Dubai. The two have signed a collaboration agreement that will focus on supporting startups, developing local talent, and sharing insights that can help grow the virtual asset space in the region.
Left to right: Dr. Kostas Chalkias, Co-founder & Chief Cryptographer at Mysten Labs, Matthew White, CEO of VARA
The partnership includes several initiatives, amongst others:
- Regulatory and licensing educational support: Jointly hosted workshops and guidance for startups navigating Dubai’s licensing regime, including advisory sessions and educational materials to guide founders and participants.
- Ecosystem Development: VARA will support SuiHub MENA’s flagship innovation center based in Dubai through roundtables and strategic engagements with government stakeholders, as well as a joint exploration of research opportunities.
- Talent Development: Co-created programs aimed at expanding local technical expertise aligned with the regulatory needs of the market.
- Economic Data Analysis: Sharing of anonymized data to assess the sector’s growth and its impact on employment, investment, and economic contributions.
In addition to joint events and resources for founders, SuiHub MENA will facilitate introductions between VARA and ecosystem projects while contributing insights for economic policy development. Both organizations will explore co-authored research and publications focused on the industry’s evolution.
“At SuiHub MENA, we believe in building strategic and supportive collaborations between regulators and founders.” shared Kristof Lukovich, CEO of SuiHub MENA. “Our collaboration with VARA is a significant forward and aligns with SuiHub MENA’s positive commitment to helping to shape a global benchmark for virtual asset innovation, regulatory clarity, and sustainable growth here in the region.”
To learn more about SuiHub MENA’s initiatives and partnership opportunities, visit suihub.org.
About VARA
Established in March 2022, following the effect of Law No. 4 of 2022, VARA is the competent entity in charge of regulating, supervising, and overseeing VAs and VA Activities in all commercial zones across the Emirate of Dubai, including Special Development Zones and Free Zones but excluding the Dubai International Financial Centre. VARA plays a central role in creating Dubai’s advanced legal framework to protect investors and establish international standards for Virtual Asset industry governance, while supporting the vision for a borderless economy.
About SuiHub MENA
SuiHub MENA is a blockchain incubator based in Expo City, Dubai providing essential resources, mentorship, and infrastructure to empower developers, startups, and enterprises working at the forefront of Web3 development in the MENA region. By bridging global blockchain technology with MENA’s rapidly expanding digital economy, SuiHub cultivates the next generation of Web3 talent through hands-on learning, collaboration, and innovation. To learn more, please visit https://suihub.org.
About Sui
Sui is a first-of-its-kind Layer 1 blockchain and smart contract platform designed from the ground up to make digital asset ownership fast, private, secure, and accessible to everyone. Its object-centric model, based on the Move programming language, enables parallel execution, sub-second finality, and rich on-chain assets. With horizontally scalable processing and storage, Sui supports a wide range of applications with unrivaled speed at low cost. Sui is a step-function advancement in blockchain and a platform on which creators and developers can build amazing user-friendly experiences. For more information about Sui, please visit https://sui.io.