UAE authorities deny Golden Visa program for TON stakers
What sounded last weekend like a breakthrough for crypto adoption in the UAE was swept off the table within 24 hours.
What sounded last weekend like a breakthrough for crypto adoption in the UAE was decisively taken off the table within 24 hours. The United Arab Emirates has explicitly denied that staking Toncoin (TON) grants access to the prestigious Golden Visa program, contrary to what the TON Foundation previously claimed.
Regulators put the brakes on.
The UAE authorities, including the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), and Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), released a joint statement on Monday. Their message: there is no arrangement where staking TON leads to a residency visa.
Moreover, they stressed that investments in digital assets do not qualify for the ten-year visa and that TON is not regulated or licensed in Dubai.
The announcement that made the news
The uproar started on Sunday when Max Crown, CEO of the TON Foundation—the team behind the Telegram-based crypto ecosystem—announced that TON holders could qualify for a Golden Visa through staking. The requirements? At least three years of staking $100,000 worth of TON, plus a one-time processing fee of $35,000.
TON price jumped right away and briefly broke above the $3 mark. But the party was short-lived: after the official denial by UAE authorities, the coin slid back to about $2.80.
Not the first communications slip around TON
Interestingly, this disappointment isn't an isolated incident. In May there was chatter about a Telegram-XAI collaboration—an item Telegram founder Pavel Durov enthusiastically shared on X. But Musk soon walked back that story too: no contract had been signed yet.
Markets look elsewhere for clarity
While TON is licking its wounds, Bitcoin and traditional markets are calm. Investors are waiting for more details on U.S. customs policy. The planned import pause through July 9 now appears extended to August 1, according to Finance Minister Scott Bessent.
Bottom line: the hype around crypto and visas sounds appealing, but regulations are rarely as loose as the promises. As always: trust is good, but verification by authorities is better.
