For companies with virtual assets on the balance sheet
A company holding virtual assets: banking, books, audit and execution
The short answer
A UAE company holding virtual assets gives itself the best case to keep its bank account and pass its audit by answering four readers with one file: the bank, the auditor, the Federal Tax Authority and, for large conversions, a desk licensed by VARA, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. The file shows where the assets came from, who controls the wallets or the custodian account, how each holding is valued at the balance-sheet date and what the flows are for. We build and hold that file and arrange the bank, the books, the audit file and the route to a licensed desk; each institution still decides on its own criteria.
Risk warning
Virtual assets are highly volatile and can lose all of their value. They are not suitable for every business or investor, and past performance is no guide to future performance.
Execution is on a VARA Broker-Dealer Services licence, under the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority's oversight, on the desk's own terms and its classification of you as a client; custody is by a licensed custodian or under your own arrangements. Velarozone does not provide virtual-asset services or investment advice, and nothing on this page is a price or a recommendation to trade.
A company that holds virtual assets is an ordinary company with an unusual asset, and each institution around it reacts to the asset first. Banks apply enhanced due diligence to crypto-linked flows, and some decline them outright. Auditors test whether the holdings exist, who owns and controls them, and how they are valued. The Federal Tax Authority applies corporate tax and VAT to each receipt, gain and loss. A large sale through a retail exchange, rather than a licensed desk, can move the price and produce a settlement a bank may refuse.
One file answers all four with the same facts: where the assets came from, who holds the keys or the custodian account, how each holding is valued and recorded, what the flows are and why, and which licensed counterparty converts them. A company with that file answers each institution from one record. A company without it answers the same questions four times, in four formats.
At a glance
- Indicative cost
- The bank's, the auditor's and the desk's charges are theirs, and the desk's quote is the desk's; the Velarozone service fee for the file and the coordination is itemised in your engagement letter.
- Timing
- The file is built once, in weeks, before any institution is approached; the bank, the auditor and the desk then each run to their own timetable.
- What's included
- A file that explains source, custody, control and valuation
- A bank whose appetite includes the holdings, or an international account beside it
- An audit file and a route to a licensed desk
This is for you if
- Your company holds virtual assets as treasury, receives them as revenue, or holds them for a founder or investor.
- Your bank has asked about crypto-linked flows, or has declined the account because of them.
- Your auditor has asked for wallet or custodian evidence and a valuation method, or the tax authority needs each receipt, gain and loss treated under the corporate tax and VAT rules.
- You need to convert a large amount to fiat, or fiat to virtual assets, through a licensed counterparty.
This may not be the right route if
- You want investment advice, a price view or a promise of a return; none is given.
- You want the assets moved outside a licensed desk or a licensed custodian; that is not a route we will structure.
- You are running a virtual-asset business that needs its own licence; that is the regulatory-consulting page.
At a glance
- Indicative cost
- The bank's, the auditor's and the desk's charges are theirs, and the desk's quote is the desk's; the Velarozone service fee for the file and the coordination is itemised in your engagement letter.
- Timing
- The file is built once, in weeks, before any institution is approached; the bank, the auditor and the desk then each run to their own timetable.
- What's included
- A file that explains source, custody, control and valuation
- A bank whose appetite includes the holdings, or an international account beside it
- An audit file and a route to a licensed desk
What this service includes
- A bank file that explains the holdings and the flows, and an introduction to a bank whose appetite includes them; an international account beside the UAE one where needed.
- Bookkeeping that classifies each holding under the accounting standards the company applies, as an intangible asset, inventory or another category, and records every receipt, gain and loss with its corporate tax and VAT treatment.
- An audit file: wallet or custodian evidence, signing and access controls, valuation method and dates, prepared for a registered auditor.
- Access to a desk licensed by VARA for Broker-Dealer Services, for large conversions, with the desk's onboarding prepared from the same file.
- A holdings register and a control policy for the board.
What it does not include
- Custody and execution, which sit with a licensed custodian and the licensed desk under their own terms.
- Investment advice, price views or any promise of a return.
- Statutory audit, signed by a registered auditor; legal opinions, from a licensed law firm.
Process
How the work is sequenced
Each stage has its own dependencies (activity approvals, document legalisation, authority processing, and bank review), and we report progress against them rather than against one overall date.
- 01
File
Source, custody, control, valuation and flows documented once.
- 02
Bank and books
The bank file presented to a bank whose appetite includes the holdings; the accounts set up for them with their corporate tax and VAT treatment.
- 03
Audit
Custody evidence, controls and valuation dates handed to the registered auditor, who forms an independent opinion.
Holding the position personally rather than through the company? That is its own page and its own file.
Prefer to start in writing? Send the details through the contact form.
Start with a structure assessment
In an initial consultation you receive a plain-language decision summary, a document-preparation list, and the next actions for your situation. Current figures are confirmed within your adviser-reviewed route comparison.
Four institutions, one file
What each institution asks of a company holding virtual assets
Each institution asks its own question. The answers all come from one record of source, custody, control, valuation and flows.
Questions a bank, an auditor, the tax authority and an execution desk ask of a virtual-asset holder.
The bank
- What it asks
- Where crypto-linked money comes from and goes; who converts it
- What the file shows
- Source of assets, custody, the licensed desk, the flows and their purpose
The auditor
- What it asks
- Existence, ownership, control and valuation of the holdings
- What the file shows
- Wallet and custody evidence, controls, valuation method and dates
The tax authority
- What it asks
- How receipts, gains and losses are treated for corporate tax and VAT
- What the file shows
- Records that apply the corporate tax and VAT rules to each transaction
The execution desk
- What it asks
- Who the client is and where the assets and fiat come from
- What the file shows
- The desk's own onboarding, prepared from the same file
The board
- What it asks
- What the company holds, what it is worth, who can move it
- What the file shows
- A holdings register and a control policy
| Institution | What it asks | What the file shows |
|---|---|---|
| The bank | Where crypto-linked money comes from and goes; who converts it | Source of assets, custody, the licensed desk, the flows and their purpose |
| The auditor | Existence, ownership, control and valuation of the holdings | Wallet and custody evidence, controls, valuation method and dates |
| The tax authority | How receipts, gains and losses are treated for corporate tax and VAT | Records that apply the corporate tax and VAT rules to each transaction |
| The execution desk | Who the client is and where the assets and fiat come from | The desk's own onboarding, prepared from the same file |
| The board | What the company holds, what it is worth, who can move it | A holdings register and a control policy |
The service
Crypto OTC execution through a licensed desk
The service page sets out how large conversions are executed on a VARA-licensed desk, with the risk warning in full.
See the crypto OTC service
Every route is planned against how the business will actually operate in the UAE.
After the licence
What you may also need
The four services most founders in this situation ask about next, each on its own page.
Visas & PRO services
Residence visas for owners, staff and family, plus the MOHRE labour files, medicals and Emirates ID renewals that keep a licence and its people in good standing. A sponsored visa lasts 1, 2 or 3 years; approval stays with the authority.
→UAE bank account setup
A bank-ready file built around your ownership, activity and expected transactions, matched to the bank whose risk appetite suits your profile. The bank alone decides approval and timing.
→Accounting & tax
Monthly bookkeeping, VAT and corporate-tax filings and year-end accounts, with statutory audit signed by a registered auditor.
→Legal services
Contracts, corporate documents, disputes and regulatory matters, advised by lawyers licensed to practise in the UAE and named in the engagement letter.
→
Next decision
Related reading
Questions
Frequently asked
- Will a UAE bank keep an account with crypto-linked flows?
- Some will, on enhanced due diligence and with the flows explained; some decline crypto-linked flows whatever the file. We present the file to banks whose appetite includes your profile, and where the business needs an account meanwhile we arrange an international one beside the UAE account. No bank is obliged to accept, and each decides on its own criteria.
- How are the holdings recorded in the accounts?
- Under the accounting standards the company applies, which decide whether a holding is an intangible asset, inventory or another category, and how it is measured. A company that trades holdings in the ordinary course is treated differently from one that keeps them as treasury. Corporate tax and VAT are then applied to each transaction: the VAT Executive Regulation lists the transfer and conversion of virtual assets as financial services, generally exempt, with explicit fees treated differently. The books record both so the figures reconcile.
- What does the auditor need to see?
- That the assets exist, that the company owns and controls them, and how they were valued at the balance-sheet date: wallet or custodian evidence, signing and access controls, and a documented valuation method. The audit file is built to show exactly that.
- Why not convert through an exchange?
- A large order on a retail exchange can move the price against you, and the fiat may arrive from an exchange account that a bank questions. A broker-dealer licensed by VARA quotes the size directly and settles fiat to an account in the company's name. The bank still reviews the receipt on its own criteria, and the quote is the desk's.
- Where are the assets held, and who executes?
- Custody is yours or a licensed custodian's. Custody and broker-dealer services are separate VARA licensed activities, so a desk that executes does not hold your assets unless it also holds a custody licence. Execution is on a VARA Broker-Dealer Services licence, with fiat settled to the company's own bank account. We arrange the bank, the books, the audit file and the route to the desk, and hold that file.
Sources
- Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA)
- CBUAE guidance on customer due diligence, source of funds and wealth
- Federal Tax Authority: corporate tax
- Federal Tax Authority: VAT legislation and guides
Regulations, fees, and eligibility can change. Every regulatory statement is re-checked before publication and dated above.
Legal notes and scope
Velarozone provides setup and operational-readiness coordination. This page is general information, not legal, tax, immigration, or banking advice.
General information drawn from the CBUAE Rulebook, including the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation (C 15/2021), and Cabinet Resolution No. (134) of 2025 as published, not legal or tax advice. Rules and guidance change, so confirm the current text and each institution's own requirements before you submit.
UAE corporate tax and VAT deregistration depend on your specific facts, including whether returns and liabilities are up to date. Home-country obligations may also apply. We coordinate with your tax adviser and do not give a tax opinion.
Virtual assets are highly volatile and can lose all of their value; they are not suitable for every business or investor. Velarozone does not provide virtual-asset services, custody, investment advice or execution. Execution is by a VARA-licensed broker-dealer under its own terms and client classification, and banks decide on their own criteria.