Getting you the right license.
Licensing a virtual asset business is not just paperwork, it requires a strategy. We can help you with determining the licence you need to operate and the freezone that will allow you to scale fast.
From the start.
Licensing Strategy
At BLegal, we help you determine the right path based on your model, jurisdiction, and commercial goals. There are many jurisdictions (or Freezones) in the UAE, and choosing the right one is crucial. We can explain you the pros and cons, so you can make the optimal choice for your business.
Regulators: Approach & Intro
If you have a question about your ongoing business or maybe you want to test your brand-new idea, we can help you. We can either assist you in presenting your idea in a way the Regulator will understand or simply convey your question on a no-name basis.
Document Review
To obtain a license, you must provide many documents to the Regulator. At BLegal, we can review business plans, policies, legal documents, and supporting materials for consistency and regulatory readiness.
Corporate & Crypto Structuring
BLegal can provide you with insights on how to align your legal structure, operating setup, and regulatory positioning to make things smoother and allow you to move faster.
Why choose BLegal?
BLegal leverages on experienced lawyers to simplifying complex legal and regulatory requirements for blockchain and FinTech businesses. We provide tailored licensing solutions and practical guidance in a timely and reliable manner.
For your business, this means
clear legal positioning,
sharp regulatory strategy,
better document readiness,
a single trusted legal partner.
Why choose BLegal?
Reliable. Responsive. Reassuring.
For your business, this means:
interacting with specialised lawyers, not form fillers
the possibility of a fixed-fee mandate, to avoid any surprises
strong contractual and regulatory strategy, from day one
regular updates every step of the way.
With BLegal by your side, you benefit from competent lawyers who help you navigate legal and regulatory issues in the blockchain and FinTech space. Our lawyers are specialised and operate with great professional ethics. We deliver tailored licensing solutions and practical, dependable legal guidance at every stage. Whether you are launching a new project or are already a seasoned entrepreneur, book your complimentary consultation call today. Let’s talk!
Our approach is clear and simple
Our approach to obtaining VASP licenses is built on over 20 years of professional experience with regulators not only in the UAE, but across Europe as well.
Our process has proven itself to be successful many times. We focus on a structured approach, ensuring every step is handled with precision. You can count on us for timely responses, consistent communication, and reliable execution — we know the process inside out and deliver results with confidence.
Complementary Introductory Call
To give you the best advice, we start by understanding your business model, growth plans, product design, and target jurisdiction during a free introductory call. Understanding our clients' goals and ambitions is our first priority.
Choose the Best License & Freezone
We analyse your requirements to advise you on the most suitable freezone for your business, based on your service offering, target clients, and market strategy.
Prepare & Review Documents
Our lawyers help organize the application narrative and review key supporting materials. This allows for a submission that is coherent, commercially grounded, and easier to assess. It helps facilitate the process with the Regulator.
Submit the Application on your behalf
With more than 20 years of professional experience, our lawyers know how to prepare a successful submission. After the submission, we also monitor and keep you appraised on the process.
Lead & Support the Review Process
Obtaining a license is a process. Regulators often ask questions or request additional documents. We help our clients navigate questions, feedback, and document refinement throughout the application journey.
Growing beyond the VASP License
Obtaining a licence is only the beginning. BLegal also helps businesses think about post-licensing obligations, contract drafting, exchange listing, etc. Click to find out more about our services.
FAQ
Answers you deserve.
Why work with lawyers rather than company formation agencies?
Company formation agencies can assist with straightforward administrative steps, but they are not a substitute for qualified legal advice. To say it bluntly, company formation agents are basically “form fillers”.
In practice, founders often need more than incorporation support: contracts must be drafted, legal issues must be analysed, and key documents may need to be tailored to the business. Those are matters that company formation agencies simply cannot handle.
For example, if your Articles of Association need to be adjusted, or if an employment contract must be prepared to support a UAE visa process, the agency will typically refer you back to external legal counsel. At that stage, the founder loses time, incurs additional cost, and ends up revisiting issues that should have been addressed properly from the outset. Many discover this too late, when a setup that looked simple at the start creates delays, added costs, or legal limitations a few months later.
BLegal offers fixed-fee pricing, but how does it work in practice?
If it better supports the engagement, BLegal can work on a fixed-fee basis. This means clients pay an agreed fixed amount for clearly defined legal work, with no unexpected billing surprises.
From the outset, we provide a clearly defined scope and pre-agreed deliverables based on the discussion held during the complimentary introductory call. Clients therefore understand what is included, what BLegal is responsible for delivering, and how the matter will be approached before the work begins.
This gives founders and businesses strong visibility on cost and helps minimise surprises during execution. If the scope changes materially, we address that early and clearly so expectations remain aligned throughout the engagement.
What is it like to work with BLegal's lawyers?
BLegal is a boutique law firm that prides itself on being responsive and reliable, while providing founders and businesses with legal support that is clear, commercially practical, and aligned with their objectives. Our seasoned, tech-savvy lawyers work alongside you from the outset, helping you make the right decisions early, anticipate potential hurdles, and stay informed at every stage so you always know where matters stand and what comes next.
For founders and businesses, that means a steadier and more predictable process, less timing uncertainty, and smoother communication with external stakeholders such as regulators, exchanges, or counterparties.
The result is legal support that gives you confidence, saves you time, and helps keep important matters moving.
What is BLegal’s expertise in blockchain and digital assets?
BLegal’s expertise in blockchain and digital assets is built on a combination of experience, industry knowledge, and technical understanding. Our credibility starts with our team: with technical degrees in blockchain and distributed ledger technology, we speak your language. This allows us to engage with you at a deeper level than a traditional law firm. With more than 20 years of experience across the tech and finance sectors, we understand both the legal framework and the commercial realities in which blockchain businesses operate.
We also have strong experience handling regulatory and licensing applications across the UAE, including matters involving ADGM, DIFC, DMCC, DWTC, and RAK Innovation City. Beyond structuring and regulatory work, we are also experienced contract negotiators, able to help you put in place clear, commercially sound agreements that protect your interests and support your growth.
In addition, our founder regularly teaches Blockchain Law to the next generation of students at the University of Geneva in Switzerland and the University of Florence in Italy. For you, this means legal support that is informed, technically credible, and commercially practical for blockchain and digital asset projects.
Can BLegal advise on crypto funds and SPV structures?
Yes. BLegal often assists clients with crypto-related fund and SPV structuring matters where legal analysis, documentation, and transaction planning need to be handled in a coordinated way. Our lawyers help investors and operators understand the legal implications of their structures, ensure that all elements work together consistently, and reduce the risk of avoidable issues arising from a legally incoherent framework.
This can include, for example, analysing how risk should be ring-fenced, reviewing whether a proposed structure is adequate from a regulatory standpoint, negotiating and drafting the relevant contracts, and helping ensure that the rights, obligations, and relationships between the different parties are properly documented from the outset.
With decades of experience advising traditional asset managers in Europe, combined with cutting-edge blockchain expertise, our founder Erica Badocco brings a distinctive perspective to these matters. For you, this means support that reflects both the discipline of traditional fund structuring and a real understanding of digital asset projects.
Who does BLegal typically advise?
BLegal typically advises founders, growth-stage businesses, fund investors and operators, and international clients who need legal support that goes beyond basic setup work. Our clients value clarity, sound structuring, and advice that is both commercially aware and technically strong.
Many come to us because they are working on a project with the potential to become regulated, or because it involves higher-complexity elements and they want legal support that keeps pace with the business rather than simply reacting to problems after they arise.
Whether you are still at project stage, already a seasoned entrepreneur, or acting through an investment vehicle or on behalf of a venture capital fund, it is never too early or too late to seek the right legal advice — and BLegal is always here to start that conversation with a complimentary consultation call.
Can BLegal draft legal opinions?
Yes, we draft legal opinions. As certified legal consultants, BLegal goes beyond company formation and administrative setup support. When a matter requires proper legal analysis, a reasoned position, or a formal written opinion, you need UAE qualified legal consultants who can assess the issue thoroughly and articulate it clearly.
Coming to us early can also save you significant time later on! Many founders and businesses only realise they need a legal opinion once an investor, regulator, bank, or service provider asks for one. When that happens, external counsel needs time to get up to speed on the project, which can slow you down and, in some cases, jeopardise funding or investment opportunities at the moment you need them most.
This is part of the value of working with BLegal: you receive legal support that is serious, credible, and built to withstand scrutiny when it matters most. Our founder, Erica Badocco, is a qualified lawyer in England and Wales and in Italy, and she regularly teaches Blockchain Law at European universities. That speaks to the depth and quality of the legal expertise behind our work.
