Vor 3 Tagen • 9 Min.

Inc. Arabia, the Middle East edition of the global brand Inc. has named Irina Heaver, UAE Crypto Lawyer, as Top Women Of Influence 2026. DUBAI, UAE — August 8, 2026 — Irina Heaver, UAE Crypto Lawyer and Founder of NeosLegal, has been named by Inc. Arabia's Women of Influence 2026, the publication's annual list of women reshaping industries across the Middle East and North Africa. The list is selected by Inc. Arabia's editorial team and appears in the magazine's August 2026 issue. Heaver is ranked by Lexology as the ‘Recommended Blockchain Lawyer’ in the UAE, alongside international firms including Clifford Chance and Latham & Watkins. She has advised government bodies on virtual asset policy and drafted regulations now in force, making her one of a small number of practitioners in the region who have both written rules and advised clients operating under them. In 2026 she was named Best UAE Crypto Lawyer by the Global Business Awards, and NeosLegal was named Best UAE Crypto Law Firm 2026 at the UAE Business Awards Middle East. From no rulebook to five regulators Irina Heaver founded NeosLegal in 2016, establishing it as the country's first law firm dedicated exclusively to virtual assets, blockchain and Web3. At the time there was no VARA, no dedicated VASP licensing regime, and no licensing pathway for a crypto business. Ten years on, the UAE operates five distinct regimes under which a virtual asset business can be authorised: VARA in Dubai, the federal CMA, the FSRA in ADGM, the DFSA in DIFC, and the Central Bank for payment tokens and stablecoin activity. The practical question facing founders has changed accordingly. It is no longer whether a crypto business can be licensed in the UAE, but which of five regulators it belongs under, and what that classification costs in capital, compliance and time. NeosLegal has structured more than 350 blockchain and Web3 projects across those regimes, advising exchanges, token issuers, DeFi protocols, venture funds and real-world asset ventures on licensing, token classification and corporate structuring. Heaver also co-founded a Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange, giving her operational experience of the rules she now advises on. Before moving into virtual assets she spent more than a decade on cross-border transactions in oil, gas and infrastructure, including work involving sovereign wealth funds. Published work and recognition Her published work includes The Founder's Guide to UAE Crypto Laws, now in its 2026 edition, and the UAE chapter of the Chambers and Partners Virtual Assets Practice Guide 2026, co-authored with the NeosLegal team. She writes on UAE virtual asset regulation for Forbes and speaks regularly at TOKEN2049 in Singapore and Dubai, Binance Blockchain Week and Abu Dhabi Finance Week. The Inc. Arabia recognition follows a run of awards for the firm. NeosLegal was named Middle East Technology Legal Team of the Year 2025 at The Oath Middle East Legal Awards. "When I started in 2016 there was no rulebook to advise on. Most of my work was supporting founders building under complete uncertainty," said Irina Heaver, UAE Crypto Lawyer and Founder of NeosLegal. "What the UAE did very early on was treat virtual assets as an industry to regulate rather than a risk to contain. Founders come here because they can be told which rules apply to them before they commit capital and build the structure. That is a shorter list of countries than people assume, and it is the whole reason the industry moved." Heaver has also co-founded RWALabs.ae, established in response to growing demand for real-world asset tokenisation in the UAE. The venture brings together legal, market infrastructure and capital expertise to support asset owners and issuers structuring tokenised offerings under UAE regulation. Frequently asked questions: Who is Irina Heaver? Irina Heaver is a UAE crypto lawyer and the founder of NeosLegal, the UAE's first crypto-native law firm, established in 2016. She advises founders on virtual asset licensing and structuring across all UAE regimes, and has structured more than 350 blockchain and Web3 projects. She has advised governments on virtual asset policy and drafted regulations. She previously co-founded a Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange, giving her operational experience of the rules she now advises on. She is the author of The Founder's Guide to UAE Crypto Laws. Which regulators license crypto businesses in the UAE? The UAE has five regulators that regulate a virtual asset activity. VARA regulates virtual asset activity in Dubai outside the DIFC. The CMA regulates at federal level across the mainland. ADGM and DIFC each operate their own regimes through the FSRA and DFSA respectively. The Central Bank of the UAE regulates payment tokens, stablecoins and related payment activity. Which one applies depends on where the entity is established and what it actually does. Do I need a VASP licence to run a crypto business in the UAE? If the activity falls within a defined virtual asset service, yes. Regulated activities typically include operating an exchange, providing custody, broker dealer services, virtual asset management and investment services, and transfer and settlement services. Marketing a virtual asset to UAE residents can also trigger obligations even where the operating entity sits offshore. The determination is activity based, so the first step is a legal analysis of what the business actually does rather than what it calls itself. What is the difference between VARA, ADGM and DIFC for a crypto business? They are separate jurisdictions with separate rulebooks, regulators and costs. VARA is purpose built for virtual assets and covers the broadest range of crypto specific activities in Dubai. ADGM and DIFC are financial free zones applying common law frameworks, and tend to suit businesses that combine virtual assets with traditional financial services such as fund management or securities activity. The right choice depends on the business model, the target client base, capital available and whether the token in question is likely to be treated as a security. Is my token a security under UAE law? It depends on the rights the token confers and its economic function, not on what it is called. UAE regulators distinguish broadly between utility tokens, payment tokens, asset referenced tokens and tokens carrying securities characteristics, and the treatment differs materially across VARA, CMA, ADGM, DIFC and CBUAE. Token classification is usually established through a formal legal opinion, which regulators, exchanges and banking partners will commonly ask to see. Is real-world asset tokenisation regulated in the UAE? Yes, and the treatment follows the underlying asset. Tokenising real estate, debt, funds or commodities does not remove the asset from the regulatory framework that would otherwise apply to it. Structuring an RWA issuance involves establishing how the token represents ownership, how custody and redemption work, and which regulator has jurisdiction over the resulting instrument. About Irina Heaver Irina Heaver is a UAE Crypto Lawyer and the founder of NeosLegal, the UAE's first crypto-native law firm. She is ranked by Lexology as the recommended blockchain lawyer in the UAE, has advised governments on virtual asset policy and drafted regulations, and has structured more than 350 blockchain and Web3 projects since 2016. She is the author of The Founder's Guide to UAE Crypto Laws and a Forbes contributor on UAE virtual asset regulation. irinaheaver.com About NeosLegal NeosLegal is the UAE's first crypto-native law firm, founded in 2016 by UAE Crypto Lawyer Irina Heaver. The firm advises on VASP licensing, token issuance and legal opinions, fund structuring, and real-world asset tokenisation across VARA, CMA, ADGM, DIFC and Central Bank regimes. Media contact Mery Avetisyan, Marketing NeosLegal https://neoslegal.co