The UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) issued Directive on Tax Transactions No. 3 of 2026, establishing how businesses must value digital-currency payments for Value Added Tax (VAT) reporting. Companies conducting taxable transactions involving crypto must select three FTA-approved centralized exchanges, keep the same platforms throughout the calendar year, record rates at the exact transaction or payment time, calculate their average and report the resulting value in UAE dirhams. The current approved list includes Binance, Bybit Fintech, Deribit, Bitget and Payward. Businesses must retain rates from all three exchanges and evidence of the calculation. The standard 5% VAT rate introduced in 2018 remains unchanged. The directive follows a reported 33% year-on-year increase in crypto value received in the UAE to more than $56 billion during 2024–25, while transactions below $1,000 rose 88.1%. The FTA will issue separate guidance for digital currencies unavailable on three approved exchanges.